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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE TWELFTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPOINTED ON 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2017 Printed by the National Assembly of Zambia REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE TWELFTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPOINTED ON 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS No Paragraph Composition of the Committee 1.0 2.0 Functions of the Committee 3.0 Meetings of the Committee Programme of Work 4.0 Procedure adopted by the Committee 5.0 Arrangement of the Report 6.0 PART I Topical Issues: 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Livestock Production and Stocking in Zambia Consolidated Submissions by Stakeholders Local Tour Findings Committee‟s Observations and Recommendations Land Management in Zambia Consolidated Submissions by Stakeholders Local Tour Findings Committee‟s Observations and Recommendations PART II Page 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 17 26 29 30 35 39 Consideration of the Action-Taken Reports 40 9.0 9.1 Action-Taken Report for the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly 40 9.2 Action-Taken Report for the Fourth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly 43 9.3 Action-Taken Report for the Third Session of the Eleventh National Assembly 49 9.4 Action-Taken Report on the Report of the Auditor General on the Management and Control of Livestock Diseases for the Fifth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly 50 58 59 10.0 Conclusion Appendix I – List of National Assembly Officials i REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE TWELFTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPOINTED ON 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2017 Consisting of: Mr M J B Ng‟onga, MP (Chairperson); Mrs M C Mazoka, MP (Vice Chairperson); Mr E Mulenga, MP; Mr S K Michelo, MP; Mr B Hamusonde, MP; Mr P C Mecha, MP; Mr D Mung‟andu, MP; Mr N Mwene, MP; Dr M Imakando, MP; and Mrs R C Fundanga, MP.
The Honourable Mr Speaker National Assembly Parliament Buildings LUSAKA Sir Your Committee has the honour to present its Report for the Second Session of the Twelfth National Assembly.

Functions of the Committee 2.0 Your Committee is mandated to carry out the functions set out below.

i.
i.

Study, report and make recommendations to the Government, through the House, on the mandate, management and operations of the Ministries of Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources, and Fisheries and Livestock, departments and/or agencies under their portfolios.

ii.
ii.

Carry out detailed scrutiny of certain activities being undertaken by the Ministries of Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources and Fisheries and Livestock, departments and/or agencies under their portfolios and make appropriate recommendations to the House for ultimate consideration by the Government.

iii.

Make, if deemed necessary, recommendations to the Government on the need to review certain policies and/or certain existing legislation.

iv.
iv.

Examine annual reports of Government ministries and departments under their portfolios in the context of autonomy and efficiency of Government ministries and departments and determine whether the affairs of the said bodies are being managed according to relevant Acts of Parliament, established regulations, rules and general orders.

v. Consider any Bills that may be referred to it by the House.

vi.

Consider International Agreements and Treaties in accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution.

vii.
vii.

Consider special audit reports referred to them by the Speaker or an order of the House.

viii.

Where appropriate, hold public hearings on a matter under their consideration.

ix.

Consider any matter referred to them by the Speaker or an order of the House.

Meetings of the Committee Your Committee held ten meetings to execute its programme of work during the 3.0 period under review.
1 Programme of Work At your Committee‟s second meeting held on 4th October, 2017, your Committee 4.0 considered and adopted the programme of work set out below.

i.

Consideration of the Action-Taken Report on the Committee‟s Report for the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly.

ii.

Consideration of the following topical issues: a. Livestock Production and Stocking in Zambia; and b.

Land Management in Zambia.

iii.


Consideration of the Committee‟s Draft Annual Report for the Second Session of the Twelfth National Assembly.

iv.

Tours.

Procedure adopted by the Committee To help it appreciate the issues raised in the report, your Committee requested both 5.0 written and oral submissions from various stakeholders.

6.0 Arrangement of the Report Your Committee‟s Report is in two parts.
Part I deals with topical issues namely: Livestock Production and Stocking in Zambia and Land Management in Zambia with the local tour findings.

Part II deals with the Action-Taken Reports on the Reports of the Committee on Agriculture.

TOPICAL ISSUES PART I I. LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND STOCKING IN ZAMBIA Background 7.0 The livestock sector is relatively under-exploited but recognised as an increasingly important part of the agricultural economy.
It plays important economic and social roles in the livelihoods of many Zambians, particularly smallholder farmers.

This sector has the potential to contribute to wealth creation and poverty reduction.

The Government has identified it as a sector that has great potential to drive the diversification agenda in the agricultural sector.
In this vein, the Government has endeavoured to promote growth in the livestock and fisheries sub-sectors by embarking on promoting livestock stocking and restocking programmes, livestock production and disease control services.

In light of the foregoing, your Committee resolved to undertake a study of the livestock sector to understand its potential and its challenges in order to make appropriate recommendations to the Government.
2 Witnesses Indaba Agriculture Policy Research Institute (IAPRI); Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); i.

Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock; ii.

iii.

iv.

Livestock Development Trust (LDT); v. We Effect Zambia; vi.

Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC); vii.

Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ); viii.

Natural Resources Development College (NRDC); Poultry Association of Zambia; ix.

National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR); x.
University of Zambia - School of Agricultural Sciences; xi.

Zambeef Products Plc; xii.

Dairy Association of Zambia; xiii.

Mr Dirk Muijs; xiv.

xv.

Musika Development Initiatives; xvi.

Lusaka City Council – Public Health Department; xvii.

National Union for Small-Scale Farmers of Zambia (NUSFAZ); xviii.

Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC); xix.

Livestock Services and Co-operative Society; xx.

Veterinary Association of Zambia; xxi.

University of Zambia – School of Veterinary Medicine; xxii.
Golden Valley Agricultural Research Trust (GART); and xxiii.

Heifer International Zambia.

Consolidated Submissions by Stakeholders 7.1 The submissions of the stakeholders on the subject matter are summarised below.

Introduction Your Committee was informed that the livestock sector offered Zambia a quick and sure way of diversifying the economy away from its dependence on the mining sector.
A well managed and robust livestock sector had potential to contribute greatly to the country‟s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the creation of jobs.

With a ready market available in the neighbouring countries and beyond for Zambian livestock and livestock products, the livestock sector had an opportunity to grow and satisfy this market despite its numerous challenges.
Legal and Policy Framework 7.1.1 Your Committee heard that there was currently no legal or policy framework to properly guide the livestock sub-sector.

Therefore, there was need to have in place a Livestock Development Policy that outlined the roles, the vision and focus of various stakeholders in order to contribute to increased production and productivity of the livestock sub-sector and thereby increase food and nutritional security, income and contribute to poverty reduction.
A desirable policy framework would be one that recognised the pivotal role played by the livestock sub-sector in the rural and urban socio–economic development trajectory, and one that recognised the need to strengthen and expand the emerging sub-sector opportunities as well as to deal with the challenges thereof.

3 Your Committee further heard that the livestock sector was currently governed by the following legislation: the Animal Health Act, No.
27 of 2010, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Chapter 245 of the Laws of Zambia, the Veterinary and Veterinary Para- Professions Act, No.

45 of 2010, the Public Health Act, Chapter 295 of the Laws of Zambia, the Tsetse Control Act, Chapter 249 of the Laws of Zambia, the Dairy Industry Development Act, No.

22 of 2010, Animal Identification Act, No.

28 of 2010, the Pig Industry Act, Chapter 251 of the Laws of Zambia, the Standards Act, No.

4 of 2017, the Science and Technology Act, No.


26 of 1997 and the Technical Education Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Act, No.

13 of 1998.

These pieces of legislation had continued to shape the livestock production trends and to some extent affect policy direction.
In spite of having all these Acts in place, your Committee was informed that enforcement of these laws was still a challenge as some of the cited Acts like the Animal Health Act of 2010 did not have the accompanying regulations in place which were key in addressing some of the animal health challenges.

For example, even though it was mandatory under the Animal Health Act to dip animals, this could not be enforced without the necessary regulations and infrastructure being in place.
Disease Prevention and Control Mechanisms available to Livestock Farmers 7.1.2 Your Committee was informed that improved disease and vector control were indispensable to the overall development of the livestock-sub sector.

Currently, the Government employed a system of targeted subsidies for the control of diseases of national economic importance, that is, those diseases which were of an epidemic nature and had trans- boundary (regional/international) significance.
The Government further allocated some resources for vector control as an important undertaking for minimising or removing the risk of contracting disease.
Your Committee was informed that trans-boundary animal diseases were defined as those diseases that were of significant economic, trade/and or food security importance for a considerable number of countries; which could easily spread to other countries and reach epidemic proportions; and where control/management, including exclusion required corporation between several countries.
Within this definition, there were many diseases that caused destruction or damage to farmers‟ properties, threatened food security, injured rural economies and potentially disrupted trade relations.

The following however, were highlighted as the most important trans-boundary diseases: i.

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) for cloven hoofed animals like cattle, goats, sheep and pigs; ii.

Contagious Bovine Pleural Pneumonia (CBPP) for cattle; iii.

Rinderpest in cattle; iv.


Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in cattle, sheep and goats; v. vi.

African Swine Fever (ASF) in pigs; vii.

Newcastle Disease (NCD) in poultry; and viii.

Avian Influenza (AI) in poultry.

Peste de Petits Ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants (sheep and goats); Your Committee learnt that for Zambia, the important ones were FMD, CBPP, ASF and NCD.

4 Your Committee was informed that livestock diseases accounted for over 80 percent of the livestock mortalities in the country.
In cattle, the most common were tick-borne diseases which included Bovine Theileriosis (Corridor disease and East Coast Fever), Anaplasmosis, Cowdriosis, and Babesiosis.

Of these diseases, corridor disease which had plagued the traditional sector was responsible for mortality rates of over 50 percent.

It was by far the most important disease in the country in terms of cattle mortalities.

In areas where the disease was newly introduced, mortalities could be as high as 80-90 percent.
This was in contrast to Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) where mortality rates directly related to the disease rarely exceeded 5 percent.

Tick-borne diseases affecting the traditional farming sector had long been singled out as a major constraint to the development of the livestock industry in Zambia.

Corridor disease was important in Southern, Central, Lusaka, Copperbelt and Northern Provinces while its counterpart East Coast Fever (ECF) caused heavy losses in Eastern Province.
Your Committee was informed that Contagious Bovine Pleura-Pneumonia (CBPP) had also claimed a number of cattle in Western, North-western, Northern and recently Southern Province.

The other diseases which affected cattle were trypanosomiasis, black quarter and haemorrhagic septicaemia, which had resulted in low animal productivity and high mortality rates in the traditional sector.
In addition, persistent outbreaks of anthrax and periodic outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD), especially in the western and southern parts of the country, have had a great negative impact on the sector.

Your Committee was informed that poor nutrition in the traditional sector had also exacerbated the impact of these diseases.
This was because when animals were malnourished, their immune system became weak and even a disease that a well maintained animal could easily recover from with proper treatment could be fatal with poor nutrition.

Your Committee further learnt that the traditional sector did not supplement their animals on anything especially during the dry season.

The only feed they received was the grass from grazing which when dry and mature had very little nutritional value.
The quality of the feed was worsened by food scarcity due to bush clearing using fire and over grazing.

In pigs, the most important disease which was both a disease of national and economic importance and trans-boundary in nature was African Swine Fever.

The disease had high mortality rates which could reach 100 percent.
Government Policy on Controlling Livestock Diseases 7.1.3 Your Committee was informed that, in Zambia, as per Government guidelines, there were two types of diseases, namely, Diseases of National and Economic Importance (DNEI) and management diseases.

The diseases on the DNEI list included CBPP, FMD, African Swine Fever (ASF) and Newcastle Disease (NCD) which were also trans-boundary diseases.
The management diseases list included all the tick-borne diseases, anthrax, blackleg, Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS), lumpy skin disease, brucellosis.

The DNEI were those diseases that had an effect on the country‟s ability to export livestock and livestock products and therefore, were the full responsibility of the Government.

For such diseases therefore, control measures like vaccinations and test and slaughter exercises were conducted at full Government cost.
The farmers‟ only responsibility was to ensure their animals were presented for vaccination.

5 Your Committee was informed further that management diseases on the other hand, were managed and controlled by the farmers.

It was the responsibility of the farmers to access all the drugs and vaccines required in the control and prevention of these diseases.

The farmers had to ensure that the drugs when purchased were kept at the correct temperatures to ensure their viability was maintained.
Diseases of National and Economic Importance 7.1.4 Your Committee was informed that the major DNEI were CBPP and FMD for the cattle sector.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock had, through various donors, including the Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE), the Royal Danish Embassy, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the European Union (EU) and IFAD, been struggling with the control of CBPP.
The CBPP disease situation was under control until April 1997, when an outbreak was reported in Shang‟ombo District of Western Province.

This outbreak coincided with the conclusion of the RNE-funded Livestock Development Programme in Western Province.

Control measures were unable to contain the spread of the disease because of the continued illegal movement of cattle from the buffer zone into the free zone of the Province.
By end of 1997, the disease had spread to North-Western Province due to the illegal movement of cattle from Western Province to the more lucrative beef markets along the line of rail.

Your Committee was informed that CBPP had since spread to the Southern Province where large numbers of cattle were lost through deaths and the test and slaughter exercise from 2006.

Mortality rates from CBPP could be as high as 100 percent in immature herds.
The effect of the disease was compounded by the fact that it was not a disease that could be easily treated.

The drugs to which the disease had been shown to respond were very expensive and, therefore, out of reach for most livestock keepers.

Your Committee further learnt that FMD was a highly contagious disease which affected cloven hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.

It also affected wild animals like buffalo and antelope.
Although the disease was highly contagious, mortality rates were much lower (2-5 percent) compared to the tick borne diseases.

It, however, seriously affected the productivity of the livestock in terms of drops in milk production and loss of body condition due to loss of appetite as a result of the sores in the mouth.

The sores on the legs also impaired the movement of the animals such that they were unable to access the feed.
FMD also affected households and the country‟s economy in the sense that there was a total ban on the movement of all livestock and livestock products from the infected area or country which affected the income generation capacity.

Due to international efforts to eradicate the disease, infection also led to trade bans being imposed on affected countries.

FMD, CBPP and swine fever had been the major constraints in Zambia accessing international markets for its livestock and livestock products.
Your committee was informed that the problems encountered in the control of DNEI were as outlined hereunder.

i. Uncontrolled livestock movement; i.

Lack of designated livestock routes; ii.

Lack of slaughtering facilities/abattoirs close to the livestock keepers; iii.

Lack of or in some areas dilapidated cordon line; iv.

Traditional practices such as payment of dowry using livestock; v. Lack of control measures in neighbouring countries such as Eastern Angola and Southern Tanzania; 6 vi.
Lack of coordination in the control measures between Zambia and its neighbours particularly Angola and Tanzania; vii.

Lack of continuity in implementation of the disease control measures; viii.

Resistance by the farmers to present their animals for vaccination; ix.

Long incubation period of the disease (CBPP); and x.

Dependency on external funding.
Your Committee was informed that the control measures taken so far included: the erection, maintenance and regular patrol of the cordon line; the maintenance of the buffer zone; the slaughter of cattle moved illegally; the vaccination of all cattle from six months and older against CBPP; the branding of all cattle vaccinated against CBPP; test and slaughter in Southern Province for CBPP; ban on live cattle movement out of Western, North-western and Southern Provinces; FMD vaccinations in affected areas in Northern, Southern and Central Province; and i. ii.
iii.

iv.

v. vi.

vii.

viii.

ix.

The ban on the movement of livestock and livestock products for FMD and swine fever.

Your Committee heard that the control of swine fever was purely through slaughtering and proper disposal of the infected herd and those within a certain radius as there was no treatment or vaccination to prevent the disease.

For NCD, it was solely controlled and prevented through vaccination of healthy birds.
7.1.5 Management Diseases a) Tick and Tick-borne Diseases Your Committee was informed that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MFL), through the Department of Veterinary Services, recognised the importance of vector control and had been advocating for a stringent cattle dipping regime through the Animal Health Act No.

27 of 2010 as the only effective solution to the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases.
It was for this reason that the Government had invested in construction and rehabilitation of dip tanks.

The control policies for these diseases included: i. ii.

iii.

iv.

v. the construction and/or rehabilitation of dip tanks; adherence to a strict and regular dipping programme.

This was a very effective way of controlling tick and tick borne diseases as demonstrated by the commercial farmers.
The farmers were encouraged to dip their livestock once a week during the rainy season and fortnightly during the dry season; the treatment of tick and tick borne diseases which were the full responsibility of the farmer; vaccination and treatment of cattle against corridor disease and East Coast Fever; and total ban on the movement of livestock from Eastern Province due to East Coast Fever.
b) Other Management Diseases Your Committee was informed that the list of other major management diseases included all the endoparasites (worms), anthrax, blackleg, Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS), lumpy skin 7 disease, three day sickness, brucellosis, vibriosis and leptospirosis.

The control and prevention of these diseases was the full responsibility of the farmers.
The farmers, therefore, had to know when these diseases were most common and ensure that they accessed the drugs necessary for the prevention/and or treatment of the diseases.

The challenge however, even when the farmers were willing to spend money on such and implement the control measures was the accessibility of the drugs.

Currently, farmers had to move long distances to major towns to purchase the drugs.
The second challenge was the lack of veterinary assistants in some parts of the country to advise and guide the farmers on the proper use of the drugs.

Problems Encountered in the Control of Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 7.1.6 Your Committee was informed that the provision of free acaricides which was the case in the First Republic was found not to be economically sustainable in view of the dwindling Government budget allocations to the sector in the 1990s.
The main reason for this was the ever increasing costs of acaricides, making it difficult for the Government to continue providing a constant supply of free acaricides in order to maintain the dip strength at effective levels.

This was also at the time when the Government was embarking on the privatisation programme which also included the privatisation of veterinary services as a way of coming up with a lean civil service establishment as a cost cutting measure.
Your Committee heard that, with time, it was realised that traditional livestock keepers had become accustomed to receiving free veterinary services and as a result were reluctant to make any financial contributions believing that this was the Government‟s responsibility.

This was compounded with problems of accessing veterinary inputs as there were no shops or organisations involved in the distribution of these products in the areas where they were required.
The fact that during the period of withdrawing free Government services, there were no programmes aimed at building capacity in the farmers in the areas of livestock production on the use of veterinary drugs which negatively affected the farmers.

The result was that for farmers that could afford and had access to the drugs they filled the dip tanks with the acaricides at the wrong dilution rates.

Most of the acaricides were also unaffordable for the traditional livestock keepers.
The other challenge that the farmers faced was the lack of reliable sources of water for filling the dip tanks which ended up drying and were later abandoned for cheaper options like hand spraying.

These cheaper options, however, proved not to be as effective as dip tanks and were also labour intensive and time consuming.
Your committee was informed that insufficient or lack of sensitisation (extension), training and lack of ownership by the communities instilled the sentiments that “the state will provide” which also resulted in the vandalism and dilapidation of the dip tanks.

As a result, less than a quarter of these dip tanks were currently in use.

The operational ones were being managed by the farmers themselves and some non-governmental organisations.
Most had been neglected and required rehabilitation or reconstruction.

Community mobilisation and sensitisation was a cardinal part of this exercise.
Livestock Extension Services in Zambia 7.1.7 Your Committee was informed that, while disease and vector control measures could significantly contribute to improved livestock production and productivity, their overall effectiveness could only be realised in combination with efficient extension services that were well linked to research as well as relevant market information.

Extension services in both disease control and animal husbandry were pivotal in improving the status of the livestock sector.
Currently, however, there were not enough extension officers to provide this 8 much needed service to the farmers.

Public sector livestock extension services provision was at about 40 percent capacity and was not adequately reaching as many livestock farmers.

The high extension officer to livestock farmer ratio was further compounded by dilapidated livestock service centres which were strategically located and intended to serve as one stop shops for all livestock services.
Your Committee learnt that apart from some camps being vacant, some of them were also too vast making it difficult for the officers to have regular meetings with the farmers.

It was, therefore, important to ensure that the veterinary camps were manned and the officers had transport and resources to conduct these activities.
Your Committee further learnt that livestock extension workers currently lacked modern extension and farmer facilitation skills that were essential for effective farmer mobilisation to address their many challenges.

The quality of the extension messages that the officers were passing on to the farming community was also very important.

It was therefore, necessary to provide the officers with current information backed by updated research findings suitable for the Zambian situation.
Your Committee heard that the harmonisation of the extension materials and messages being passed on to the farmers was also key in ensuring the messages were well received and utilised by the end users.

There was need to link the research units to the officers responsible for packaging the extension messages.

Awareness creation on the spread and prevention of livestock diseases should also be extended to livestock traders, transporters, marketers and consumers.
Livestock Distribution 7.1.8 Your Committee was informed that although livestock could be reared in all climatic zones in Zambia especially cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, it was concentrated in five provinces, namely, Western, Southern, Central, Eastern and Lusaka Provinces.

The table below shows the livestock population in Zambia as per livestock census in 2006.
Table 1: Livestock population per province (National Livestock Census, MACO, 2006) Cattle Province 683,794 Central 128,217 Copperbelt 234,795 Eastern 13,977 Luapula 230,099 Lusaka 133,890 Northern North-western 63,333 683,941 Southern 711,917 Western 2,883,963 Total Sheep 3,257 2,977 38,479 15,293 450 9,915 4,211 46,888 0 121,469 Goats 448,936 38,298 512,157 125,737 45,107 58,880 49,610 532,211 14,399 1,815,336 Pigs 33,769 34,141 222,423 17,651 15,727 4,967 17,382 50,629 13,905 410,594 Poultry 3,542,994 5,147,940 3,936,660 3,179,610 1,395,531 3,147,814 991,396 13,929,720 5,580,216 40,851,880 It was important to note that the cattle population was currently estimated at 5 million (CSO, 2010).
In order to have actual figures, the livestock census should be conducted as a matter of urgency as only estimates had been used for planning purposes for a number of years now.

The livestock sector comprised both the smallholder (traditional) and commercial sectors.

The traditional sector comprised the following proportions of the total animal populations: 83 percent of cattle, 97 percent of goats, 64 percent of sheep, and 90 percent of pigs.
9 Livestock Marketing 7.1.9 Your Committee was informed that marketing of livestock and livestock products, especially in the rural parts of the country, faced many challenges due to lack of appropriate infrastructure which included roads, slaughter facilities and transport.

Because of the poor roads and long distances, many farmers were not able to access markets that they believed were more lucrative along the line of rail.
The lack of slaughter facilities in some parts of the country had also resulted in the movement of livestock by farmers to places with these facilities.

This had played a major role in the transmission of diseases especially CBPP, FMD and swine fever.

Your Committee was informed that currently, some of the options open to the farmers in rural Zambia in terms of marketing their livestock and livestock products were those listed hereunder.
i. Abattoirs and processing companies: A number of private companies had set up and bought the privatised abattoirs across the country.

This had provided an opportunity for farmers that could transport their animals to such facilities to sell them there.

The disadvantage with such private companies was that they were mainly found at the district centres although they mainly catered for cattle only.

Slaughter slabs.

ii.

iii.

Cooperatives of livestock commodity groups.

iv.


Livestock sales to the consumers and livestock traders.

v. On-farm slaughters.

vi.

Barter system.

Your Committee was informed that the lack of market information and incentives had been cited by many rural farmers as a cause of lack of farmer investment in their livestock.
Farmers in many cases did not have information, such as prices, and as a result were forced to sell at whatever price the buyers, especially processors, dictated to them even when they had moved long distances.

It was therefore, important that cheap mechanism of accessing market information be put in place for farmers to make informed decision on where to sell their livestock.
Your Committee further heard that from the processors‟ point of view, the low volumes and offtake in the traditional sector posed a huge challenge for the private sector investment in the processing of livestock.

In addition, the seasonal availability of slaughter stock had also affected the growth of the processing sector.

As most of the livestock keepers were not in livestock as a business, they only sold their livestock when there was a need for cash.
For this reason it was imperative for the Government and its partners to work on a paradigm shift for all livestock keepers to view their livestock as an investment and a business.

This called for vigorous capacity building through training in the area of entrepreneurship and business management.
Your Committee was informed that the other major problem in livestock production and marketing was the low overall productivity of the traditional livestock sector, manifested through low individual animal productivity and insufficient numbers of good quality animals.
Under this sector, for example, cattle production was characterised by slow growth rates (5–8 years to reach market weight), high calf mortality (20–30 percent), low reproductive performance (50 percent conception and calving rates), and long calving intervals (18 months 10 to 3 years).
In comparison, production ratios for the commercial sector (where management was generally good) featured high growth rates (only 1½ to 2 years of age to reach market weight), low calf mortality (1-2 percent), high reproductive rates (80 – 90 percent calving rates), and short calving intervals (one calf every year).

Improvement in the area of production would make it more lucrative for the private sector to invest in agro-processing business.
Your Committee was informed that it was hoped that the plan by the Department of Livestock Development to construct livestock service centres would play a key role in not only improving the marketing of livestock but also connecting farmers to input suppliers.

Unfortunately, there was no notable progress in the construction of these facilities in the rural areas.
Your Committee was further informed that, in order for these structures to address the issues that they were being constructed to address, ownership and management of these centres had to be decided upon in consultation with the communities.

The communities must also be key in determining the type of services and activities to be conducted at the centres.

Your Committee heard that a blanket approach to running the centres would not work as the communities had unique needs.
A Public Private Partnership arrangement would be the most appropriate and sustainable approach as, in this way, the communities would be actively involved.

This would also result in the structures being safeguarded from vices like vandalism and abuse.
Challenges facing the Livestock Sector 7.1.10 Your Committee was informed that despite notable benefits from the livestock sub- sector, production and productivity of livestock, especially among small holder farmers, was still at a low level due to various constraints.

From the early 1990s, the livestock sector suffered a number of setbacks from which it had not yet recovered.
This resulted in a drastic drop in livestock numbers especially in Southern Province where, in 1985 there were reported to be over one million cattle, there were only about seven hundred thousand in 2007.

The drop in livestock numbers was due to policy changes during the Second Republic in an effort to reduce the cost of running Government.

The change meant that the Government would no longer provide the dipping of the animals free of charge to farmers but farmers had to dip the animals at their own cost.
This resulted in a sharp increase in the incidence of tick borne diseases in the traditional sector.

The major challenges faced by the sector are outlined hereunder.

i.

Inadequate Livestock Husbandry Skills among the Farmers Your Committee heard that most traditional farmers had not had any formal training in livestock production.

Consequently, they lacked the knowledge and skills of proper animal management to improve productivity at farm level.

ii.
ii.

Poor Livestock Production Extension Service Your Committee was informed that, in general, agricultural extension had been dominated by crop-based messages or by animal health service delivery.

Consequently, livestock production under the traditional sector had largely remained unimproved.

11 iii.

Lack of appropriate Livestock Research Your Committee further heard that there was very little research for livestock development in Zambia.
Funding from the Government or donors was not sufficient to facilitate research programmes that could generate information on improved technologies to enhance livestock productivity.

The experts in livestock production were still very few due to the small number of students enrolling for animal production courses at the universities.

Further, the number of research establishments specifically on animal production was not adequate.
Generally, there had been no coordination between research and actual practice on the farms.

Farmers were therefore, not supported by extension messages emanating from research.

This had resulted in a knowledge gap and the consequent low animal productivity.

iv.

Lack of Breeding Policy Your Committee was informed that crossbreeding had resulted in the gradual disappearance of the pure indigenous breeds.
The ultimate result was that special characteristics that the indigenous breeds possessed, such as resistance to disease, heat tolerance, ability to survive drought conditions, ability to utilise poor quality roughage and many others, had been lost.

v. In-breeding Practices Your Committee was informed that in-breeding practices had resulted in the weakening or diluting of the genetic potential of the breeds and reduced their resistance to diseases and productivity.

vi.
vi.

Pastures and Fodder Your Committee was informed that rangeland pastures for livestock kept on reducing at a very fast rate due to a high demand for land to other activities and uncontrolled fires in the grazing lands.

Improved pastures were required for increased production and productivity but smallholder farmers were rarely trained in pasture management.

Ruminants had largely depended upon degraded communal rangelands for feed.
Grazing pressure on such rangelands had never been controlled adequately, leading to decreased quantity and quality of grass.

Inadequate Supplies of Affordable and Good Quality Breeding Stock vii.

Your Committee was informed that the sourcing of good quality breeding stock was a huge challenge for the livestock farmers, especially the small scale and traditional farmers.
In places where breeding stock could be sourced within the province like Southern and Central Province, the available breeds were not appropriate for resource poor farmers.

Inadequate/ and /or Lack of Credit Facilities and Subsidies viii.

Your Committee was informed that unlike crop farming, there had never been any organised credit facility for small livestock farmers.

This had further marginalised the livestock sector.
Whereas the crop sector was supported and subsidised through the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), the livestock sector had not received similar incentives and, as a result, had to struggle to get credit facilities from the commercial banks and microcredit facilities.
The reasons for this low financial intervention in the sector were numerous, and included; high interest rates, high collateral requirements and long term loans required to improve breeding on existing farms or financing for establishing new farms.

12 ix.

Lack of /and/ or Poor Marketing Infrastructure Your Committee was informed that there was no organised marketing system for livestock farmers as the marketing of livestock was generally through middle men who tended to exploit the farmers.
The farmers had, therefore, been left at the mercy of unscrupulous livestock traders who offered them low price thereby discouraging farmers from improving production and productivity.

This was compounded by lack of market information for the farming communities.

Improvement in the marketing facilities would boost production by the traditional livestock keepers because they would have a ready market for their livestock.

x.
x.

Institutional Constraints Your Committee was informed that it had been recognised that institutional constraints posed the greatest challenge to the livestock sector.

The transition from state domination to a balanced cost effective provision of services that recognised and utilised the comparative advantages of the public, private and alternative sectors was a daunting process which needed to be carefully managed, not only for now but for the future as well.

xi.
xi.

Disease Outbreaks and Movement Bans Your Committee was informed that, compared to other countries in the SADC region, Zambia suffered from high livestock disease incidences especially in the cattle sector.

Outbreaks of diseases of national economic importance were quite frequent and as a result had impacted negatively on the livestock sector.

This had resulted in the country failing to meet the conditions for certification to export livestock products.
The bans of livestock movement had a twofold impact: a.

It negatively affected the local economies of the livestock producing areas by shrinking it; and b. resulted in an increase in the price of the livestock products in the urban areas due to shortages.

xii.
xii.

Departments of Livestock Development and Veterinary Services Your Committee heard that the Departments of Livestock Development and Veterinary Services were overwhelmed and burdened with their functions of policy formulation, monitoring, implementation of the disease control programmes which lacked checks and balances.

As a result, the current disease control delivery system was not working well.

xiii.
xiii.

Understaffing Your Committee was informed that critical camps in areas prone to disease outbreaks were not always manned and equipped.

xiv.

Poor Access to Veterinary Inputs at the Community/Village Level Your Committee was informed that veterinary input suppliers were located in the bigger cities and mainly targeted commercial farmers.
This had resulted in traditional farmers experiencing difficulties in accessing veterinary inputs and services as they had to travel long distances to access the drugs and vaccines.

Not only was it costly for them but also acted as a deterrent from them implementing the routine control measures.

xv.

Cattle Theft Your Committee was informed that the rampant increase of the cattle theft posed a huge challenge to growth and private investment in the livestock sector.
The mushrooming of 13 unregulated slaughter and sale of livestock products had played a catalytic role as there was a ready market for stolen livestock.

This was considered as a major discouraging factor considering how much investment was involved in raising one unit particularly of large livestock.

Stakeholders’ Suggestions on the Improvement of the Livestock Sector 7.1.11 The stakeholders made the suggestions set out hereunder.

i.
i.

As a matter of urgency, the livestock census should be conducted as this was key to the planning of all livestock activities.

ii.

Veterinary drugs, inputs and services must not only be made available and affordable but should also be brought close to the farming communities, preferably by the private sector.
The unavailability and unaffordability of the services and veterinary inputs hindered the timely and effective prevention and control of management diseases by the livestock farmers who had to cover long distances to access both services.

iii.

The Department of Veterinary Services must be well staffed and well funded.

The Department must be empowered with transport to ensure rapid response in case of any disease outbreaks or threats.

iv.
iv.

The Department of Livestock Production must also be strengthened so that it could provide the farmers with information in best animal husbandry practices and updated with new developments that were occurring in the industry.

It was noted that with improved management, most of the diseases that the traditional sector was faced with could easily be avoided.

v. Extension services in both disease and animal husbandry were pivotal in improving the status of the traditional sector.
It was, therefore, important that the veterinary camps were manned and the officers had transport and other resources to offer these services.

vi.

Co-ordination and collaboration must be encouraged among all the players in the disease control programmes.

These players must work together and have a forum for exchanging information, successes and failures or challenges.

They should complement each other.


Meetings should also be held with all stakeholders to discuss the lessons learnt after disease campaign programmes.

vii.

Stock movement control must be strengthened through creation of clear livestock routes.

This should be backed with branding and tagging of animals with specific provincial/district and veterinary camp marks so that a movement permit should have the full identity of the animals to be moved.
This was not only key in the control of diseases but will contribute thefts.

Impromptu mobile veterinary/police road blocks should also be mounted regularly to ensure compliance.

to curbing livestock viii.

Marketing and/or slaughtering facilities must be established close to the livestock keepers to discourage the movement of animals for long distances in search of better markets which was a catalyst for the spread of livestock diseases.
Provision of livestock market information at the kraal/village and camp level must also be 14 encouraged so that producers could make informed decisions on where to sell their livestock.

In addition, this could contribute to the control of movement of live animals in search of better markets.

ix.

There was need to diversify livestock production base through ensuring increased access to improved breeding stock, technology, information and finance.
This could be coupled with promoting the utilisation and conservation of farm animal genetic resources and establishment of a national indigenous livestock conservation gene bank.

Further, introduction of incentives such as tailored subsidies and livestock services towards production of specific livestock on the basis of comparative advantage would facilitate diversification of the livestock production base.
More breeding centres with more livestock species/breeds (dairy, beef, sheep, goats, pigs and village chickens) should be created in all the provinces so that farmers were not compelled to source for breeding stock outside their provinces and/or country.

x. Vaccination and management schedules for both management diseases and DNEI should be made available to the farmers in all the districts in relation to the disease situation in that area.
In this way, farmers would have information on when their livestock are expected to be vaccinated, especially in relation to DNEI.

This could help enhance timely implementation of vaccination activities since, once farmers were armed with this knowledge, they could, as beneficiaries, put pressure on the relevant authorities so that their animals were vaccinated at the right time.

xi.
xi.

Disease free zones must be clearly demarcated, created and actualised in at least two provinces to promote possible export of livestock and livestock products.

xii.

Creation of an emergency Disease Control Fund for rapid response in the event of disease outbreaks could greatly contribute to minimising the impact of disease outbreaks and reduce the cost of controlling diseases.

xiii.
xiii.

Establishment of a closer working relationship between the Departments of Veterinary Services and Livestock Development and abattoirs and other slaughter facilities.

The ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of livestock and carcasses should be the sole responsibility of the Department of Veterinary Services.

It was noted that abattoirs were a very important tool in disease monitoring and disease trace back as they provided an opportunity for an early warning system.

xiv.
xiv.

Active and passive surveillance must be continuous and ongoing as it was a useful tool in detecting diseases and was part of an early warning system for all diseases, not just the DNEIs.

xv.

Effective management of cold chain facilities such as the use of solar fridges and freezers should be put in place to avoid compromising the quality and effectiveness of the vaccines.
The cold chain was also important in the preservation of any samples collected in the field to ensure correct diagnosis of diseases.

xvi.

Farmer associations should participate in monitoring disease control programmes to promote accountability as they were beneficiaries of these programmes.

The inclusion of the farmer associations in these activities would encourage ownership of the 15 programmes.
The success in managing the just ended outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF) had been partly attributed to the inclusion of the farmer associations‟ representatives as part of the teams that were conducting the testing and slaughtering of pigs that tested positive to the disease.

xvii.

Although Theileriosis (Corridor disease and East Coast Fever) was classified under the management diseases, it was by far the most important disease in the country in terms of cattle mortalities.
In areas where the disease was newly introduced, mortalities could be as high as 80-90 percent.

This was in contrast to Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) where mortality rates directly related to the disease rarely exceed 5 percent.

It was therefore, the major contributor to the reduction in the livestock numbers in the country especially in Southern Province.
It was for this reason that Theileriosis must be considered as a Disease of National Economic Importance in order for the livestock sector to positively contribute to the country‟s economy and contribute to its diversification.

xviii.

Despite it being law and compulsory to dip cattle as provided in the Animal Health Act of 2010, inadequate operational dip tanks and acaricides was a challenge.

As a result, the law could not be enforced.


There was need therefore, to expedite the construction and rehabilitation of dip tanks.

Mechanisms should also be put in place to ensure the effective management of these dip tanks for the purposes of sustainability.

xix.
xix.

Adequate and functional veterinary laboratories were key in the timely diagnosis and control of livestock diseases, however, these were poorly staffed and the few available officers equipped with inadequate knowledge, especially at district level.

It was therefore, important that the construction of more regional laboratories was completed quickly.
This would reduce on the time and cost of submitting samples to Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) and the sending back of results to the provincial and eventually district offices.

These laboratories must also be accredited by the regional accreditation body in order to cut on the cost of sending samples to accredited laboratories in South Africa and other countries.

xx.
xx.

An electronic reporting system should be put in place to ensure quick submission of reports from the camp/district/province which would facilitate quick responses in cases requiring attention.

This would also contribute to improving the rate of submitting reports by field officers.

Such reports should also be copied to the local authorities to promote transparency and accountability.

xxi.

The cordon line must be constructed using modern fencing materials as was the case in Botswana and Namibia.
Resources must also be made available to ensure that the cordon line is not vandalised and for the routine maintenance of the fence.

The cordon line played a key role in preventing CBPP from entering Western Province for twenty three years before it was vandalised and fell into a state of disrepair.

As proved in Botswana and Namibia, the cordon line was still an effective tool in preventing and controlling CBPP.

xxii.
xxii.

There was need to build and maintain national capacity to deal with adverse climatic variations, major disease outbreaks and other emergencies by way of establishing a 16 livestock Early Warning System with strengthened information collection and dissemination mechanisms.

xxiii.

Animal nutrition had been cited as one of the impediments to the livestock sector in Zambia.
Improved access to nutritional education could help improve productivity in the sector by ensuring that farmers provided their livestock with the proper nutrition that would help Zambia improve yields to the levels of Zimbabwean and South African farmers.

Therefore, animal nutritional education should be stepped up.

xxiv.

Provision of affordable financing options to livestock farmers across the country could help increase the production levels in the sector and should be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Local Tour Findings 7.2 Below are the findings of the local tour.

7.2.1 University of Zambia School of Agricultural Sciences During its tour of UNZA School of Agricultural Sciences, your Committee was informed that the School had five programmes running, namely; animal science; plant science; soil science; agricultural economics and extension; and food science and nutrition.
Your Committee was further informed that the School had integrated aquaculture into its programmes and built a fish pond which was expected to generate a substantial amount of revenue once the initial investment had been recovered.

Your Committee was informed that the School was facing financial challenges as the University relied on Government funding which was not adequate.

Your Committee learnt that the school was running on funds raised through consultancies by the lecturers.
Some of the critical challenges highlighted were as outlined hereunder.

Inadequate finances; Inadequate and dilapidated teaching facilities; i. ii.

iii.

Lack of modern equipment, especially in the lecture rooms and the laboratories; and iv.

Low staffing levels.


Your Committee was informed that there was very little collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and the Ministry of Agriculture in terms of creating linkages between the curriculum offered to the students and the demands of the industry.

Your Committee further learnt that the practical and entrepreneurship aspects of the courses offered by the school were weak, but there was a move towards offering entrepreneurial courses.
17 Fig.1: Fish pond at the University of Zambia 7.2.2 Luchembe Goat Breeding Centre in Kanchibiya District Your Committee toured Luchembe Goat Breeding Centre which is located in Kanchibiya District.

The centre was located on a 400 hectare piece of land and was established in 2015 through Government funding.
Your Committee was informed that the centre was initially funded with an amount of K350,000, which was used to construct an improved goat housing unit and procurement of the first breeding stock of thirteen goats.

Your Committee was informed that the objectives of the goat breeding centre were to: i. ii.

iii.

iv.
iii.

iv.

improve the local breeds and increase access to improved goat breeds by smallholder livestock farmers in Muchinga Province; have access to dairy goats for increased access to goat milk so as to increase food security; increase income generation; and contribute to poverty reduction among the community beneficiaries.
Your Committee was informed that the centre was initially supposed to be stocked with 200 goats as start up but was stocked with the help of the project under Livestock Infrastructure 18 Support Project in 2017 with eighteen goats.

As at December, 2017, the centre had a total of twenty seven goats while currently the centre has twenty four goats after three of them died.
Your Committee was further informed that the centre was facing challenges due to inadequate funding which had led to the non-payment of salaries to the workers for fifteen months.

Your Committee also learnt that there were only two casual workers at the centre who were owed more than K13,000 each in salary arrears.
Your Committee heard that inadequate funding had delayed the completion of the works at the centre and that the only complete structures apart from the goat house were the guard house and a store room.

Your Committee was informed that although the borehole had been drilled, there was no tank and pump installed, thereby leading to the centre not having any water.
Your Committee heard that the source of water for the goats was about two kilometres away from the centre and water had to be ferried on bicycles in 20 litre containers.

However, during the rainy season, the centre was able to harvest some water using some improvised infrastructure.
Fig.2: Improved Goat Housing Unit at Luchembe Goat Breeding Centre 19 Fig.3: Water harvesting at the Luchembe Goat Breeding Centre Fig.4: Incomplete Borehole Infrastructure at Luchembe Goat Breeding Centre 20 7.2.3 Zambia College of Agriculture - Mpika During its tour of the Zambia College of Agriculture in Mpika, your Committee was informed that the college was officially opened in 1979 to produce frontline human resource such as extension workers at a two year certificate level for the agricultural sector.
Your Committee was further informed that in 2007, a three-year Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture underwritten by the Copperbelt University (CBU) was introduced and in 2017 another three-year Diploma programme underwritten by CBU was introduced to produce teachers of agriculture science.

Your Committee learnt that the college had a total land area of 2,683 hectares with four hostels operational, one hostel for females and three for the males.
Space was said to be inadequate so bunk beds were used to increase bed space.

Your Committee was informed that two more hostels were required, one for males and one for females.

Your Committee was further informed that the college had a water supply project funded by the Irrigation Development Support Project (IDSP) where the following works had been done: i. ii.

iii.

iv.
iii.

iv.

30 hectare plot was cleared by the Zambia National Service (ZNS); 1000m³ reservoir was constructed; 4256m³ weir was constructed; 500m ZESCO grid extension to the reservoir was done, although power was not yet connected; centre pivot and main pump were installed at the 30 ha cleared plot, however, one of the motors on the centre pivot worth K10,000 was stolen; and pump house was constructed.

vi.

Your Committee was informed that the outstanding works were as outlined hereunder.
v. 300m ZESCO grid extension to the weir worth K107,000; i.

Construction of a pump house at the weir; ii.

iii.

Construction of a pipeline from the weir to the reservoir; iv.

Installation of the sprinkler and drip irrigation equipment; v. Sinking of two boreholes for domestic water supply; and vi.

Rehabilitation of the domestic water distribution network to consumers.

Your Committee was informed that the college faced a number of challenges as outlined hereunder.
Inconsistent and inadequate funding to the institution affecting college activities; Inadequate staffing as most of the positions were frozen; Poor condition of buildings and road infrastructure; Poor internet connectivity; i. ii.

iii.

iv.

v. High levels of theft of college produce and property; vi.

Inadequate and poor state of utility transport; and vii.

Blocked sewer system which required about K700,000.
21 Fig.5: Non-functional Centre Pivot at the Zambia College of Agriculture in Mpika Your Committee learnt that the college land was not secured on title and was susceptible to encroachment, hence the need to secure the land.

7.2.4 Central Veterinary Research Institute – Balmoral Your Committee toured the Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) at Balmoral.

The facility was housed on a 3,750 acre site 25kms south west of Lusaka.
Your Committee heard that the Institute currently had a network of six Regional Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories in Chipata, Mongu, Mazabuka, Ndola, Isoka and Zambezi.

Your Committee was informed that the main objectives and functions of the Central Veterinary Research Institution were as set out hereunder.

i.

To provide laboratory diagnosis of animal diseases and reporting back to field services of the department and the farming community; ii.
Epidemiological surveillance and disease investigations; iii.

iv.

Applied research and dissemination of scientific and technical information to the Production of animal vaccines and other biological vaccines; v. field services; and Provision of in-service training and student refresher courses in laboratory diagnostic technologies.
Your Committee was informed that the Institute had a total of ninety three staff: thirty five professional staff, twenty three laboratory technicians and thirty three support staff.

Your Committee further heard that most of the laboratories had recently been renovated and were 22 in good condition.

Your Committee was informed that the Institute had been acquiring new equipment for the laboratories, especially in the vaccine production unit.
Your Committee heard that for the first time in Zambian history, the laboratory was given accreditation by the Southern African Development Community Accreditation Service (SADCAS) in four laboratory test methods under ISO 17025.

This accreditation meant that CVRI had international recognition on its commitment to quality, competence and reliability of producing test results.
Your Committee was informed that CVRI comprised eight functional units, namely; bacteriology, biochemistry and toxicology, biotechnology, parasitology, pathology and epidemiology, virology, vaccine production and quality management.

Your Committee learnt that in order for the Institute to market the vaccines, there was need to invest in equipment for packaging of vaccines.

Fig.
Fig.

6: Members of the Committee with staff of CVRI 7.2.5 Palabana Dairy Training Institute Your Committee toured Palabana Dairy Training Institute situated in Chongwe District.

Your Committee was informed that the Institute was set up in 1965 to offer carpentry and vegetable production up to 1970 when dairy husbandry was introduced.

Your Committee was informed that the course was running for eighteen months meant for small scale farmers who were resettled on Government resettlement schemes.
Your Committee further learnt that the Government provided support in terms of animals, fencing, boreholes, houses and free extension services.

This went on up to 1981, by which time about 300 farmers were trained and 100 were resettled.

Your Committee was informed that a two-year certificate course in dairy production was introduced for school leavers and non-school leavers in 1992.
Later, the Government set up the Livestock Development Trust (LDT) in 2003 and Palabana was transferred to LDT 23 together with all its assets, including the animals.

Your Committee heard that LDT faced challenges in 2008 and the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock claimed back the training component of the Institute.
Your Committee was informed that with the creation of the position of Livestock Assistant by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in 2010, who needed to have a certificate in Livestock Production, Palabana was tasked to develop a curriculum in Livestock Production course.

Your Committee heard that the course commenced in 2011.
Your Committee was informed that after the Presidential directive that the Institute would become a university, the Ministry thought it wise to discontinue and move the course to Zambia Institute for Animal Health (ZIAH) in Mazabuka.

Members of staff were supposed to be separated in 2013 but to date nothing had happened.
Your Committee was informed that the university programme was supposed to be launched; however, by February 2017 this had not happened and therefore, the Institute was given a go ahead to enroll.

Your Committee was informed that the major constraint was the erratic and insufficient funding as there was no allocation in the budget to the Institute from 2013 to 2015.
Your Committee further learnt that the land was not on title and out of the initial 950 hectares of land, 350 hectares was demarcated and given out to people some of whom have even got title to the land.

Your Committee was informed that there was no written document transferring Palabana from LDT to the Ministry and therefore, the Institute should still be considered to be under LDT.

Fig.
Fig.

7: Piggery at Palabana Dairy Training Institute 7.2.6 Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) Your Committee toured the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) which is located on 304 hectares of land, 16 kms east of Lusaka City Centre and 12 kms south west of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on Great East Road.
Your Committee was informed that NRDC had another 1,662.23 hectares of land in Chief Shakumbila‟s area in 24 Mumbwa District which was yet to be put on title and developed into a modern agricultural campus.

Your Committee was informed that the college admitted the first students in 1965 for three two-year diploma programmes and a one –year certificate course in Home Economics.

The college was mandated to train middle level human resource for the agricultural and related sectors.
Your Committee heard that the initial courses later developed into the following specialised courses: Agricultural Business Management, Animal Science, Crop Science, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Engineering and Water Engineering.

Home Economics evolved into Food and Nutrition which was converted into a diploma course.

Your Committee learnt that a Fisheries course was also introduced at diploma level.
Your Committee was informed that the college had an establishment register of 172 since inception despite the increase in student enrolment.

The staffing levels were currently at 75 percent with forty critical positions for both academic and support staff frozen.

Your Committee was informed that the major challenges faced by the institution were as outlined below.

i. Non-filling of critical positions; ii.


Poor college security leading to constant thefts of students‟ and college property and farm produce; Inadequate and dilapidated infrastructure, transport and equipment; Establishment rigidities and disparities; Inadequate funding; Lack of a medical facility on campus; Inadequate staff and student hostel accommodation; Inadequate and dilapidated library, laboratories and classrooms; and Inadequate and obsolete farm implements, machinery and training equipment.

iii.
iii.

iv.

v. vi.

vii.

viii.

ix.

Your Committee was informed that the college had been lobbying to be a separate department under the Ministry of Agriculture such as the way Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) was and not to be bundled as a component under the Human Resource Department.

Your Committee further heard that NRDC had been lobbying for authority to offer degree programmes since 2007 but nothing had materialised so far.
Fig.8: Leaking roof in the student hostel at NRDC 25 Fig.9: Dilapidated laboratory at NRDC Fig.10: Perimeter wall of NRDC turned into dumping site by neighbouring compound Committee’s Observations and Recommendations 7.3 After a detailed analysis of the written memoranda, careful consideration of oral submissions from the stakeholders and the findings from the local tour, your Committee makes the observations and recommendations set out hereunder.

i.
i.

Your Committee expresses concern at the poor livestock production extension services in the country and that agricultural extension has been dominated by crop- based messages, leaving livestock production under the traditional sector largely unimproved.

26 In light of this, your Committee strongly recommends that the Government should put measures in place to improve livestock production extension services in the country.

ii.
ii.

Your Committee observes that there is very little research on livestock development in Zambia largely due to inadequate research institutions and insufficient funding to facilitate research programmes that could generate information on improved technologies to enhance livestock productivity.

Your Committee further observes that there is lack of public private partnerships in livestock research facilitation and funding.
Your Committee therefore, recommends that the Government should prioritise research and funding to research programmes.

Your Committee further recommends that public private partnerships as well as private sector involvement in the facilitation and funding of research programmes should be encouraged.

iii.
iii.

Your Committee is concerned that lack of a livestock breeding policy has led to indiscriminate crossbreeding of local breeds with exotic breeds, resulting in the gradual disappearance of the pure indigenous breeds.
In this regard, your Committee recommends that the Government should, as a matter of urgency, put in place a livestock breeding policy and ensure that livestock farmers are sensitised on the dangers associated with indiscriminate crossbreeding and ensure that indigenous breeds are preserved.

iv.
iv.

Your Committee notes with dismay that there is no organised marketing system for livestock and livestock products, thereby leaving them at the mercy of unscrupulous business men and women who exploit them by buying the livestock at extremely low prices.

Your Committee therefore, urges the Government to prioritise the provision of marketing infrastructure to the livestock farmers.
In relation to this, the Government must ensure that veterinary laboratories are constructed and operational in all the regional centres to ensure speedy processing of samples when farmers want to sell their animals.

v. Your Committee observes that there is serious understaffing at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in general, and particularly with regard to livestock extension officers and veterinary staff in the veterinary camps.
Your Committee strongly recommends that the Government grants Treasury Authority for the Ministry to employ the necessary staff in order to improve the staffing levels and ultimately service provision.

vi.

Your Committee is concerned about the rampant increase in livestock theft which is posing a threat to the livestock farmers.

Your Committee therefore, recommends that stiffer penalties are meted against those convicted of stock theft.
Your Committee further recommends that abattoirs should be monitored as those who are involved in stock theft may be using illegal abattoirs to 27 slaughter and dispose of stolen livestock.

Your Committee also recommends that livestock owners should be compelled to present some form of certification which would prove that the animals they were selling truly belonged to them.

vii.
vii.

Your Committee observes that despite it being compulsory by law for farmers to dip cattle as provided for in the Animal Health Act No.27 of 2010, inadequate operational dip tanks and acaricides is a challenge and, as a result, the law cannot be enforced.

Your Committee further observes that some of the newly constructed and rehabilitated dip tanks have cracks and are not operational even though the Government spent huge sums of money to rehabilitate or construct them.
Your Committee strongly urges the Government to expedite the construction and rehabilitation of dip tanks and ensure that works done are up to standard.

Your Committee further recommends that the Government should engage the communities and the private sector to manage the dip tanks.

viii.

Your Committee observes that breeding centres are not operating as such but were operating as multiplication centres as they do not have expert breeders.
Your Committee recommends that the Government should employ expert breeders to run the breeding centres that are being built.

Your Committee further recommends that breeders be seconded or attached to the Ministry from the higher learning institutions which may have breeders amongst their staff.

ix.
ix.

Your Committee notes that most of the interventions in disease control and prevention employed by the Ministry have been influenced by the classification of diseases as diseases of national economic importance (DNEI) rather than those that have the highest mortality rate.

Your Committee recommends that there be a balance in the interventions even for those diseases that are not classified as DNEI such as corridor disease as they inflict the highest mortality on animals.

x.
x.

Your Committee notes that there has been erratic and inadequate funding to the agricultural and fisheries training institutions to an extent where they fail to fulfill their mandates.

Your Committee recommends that adequate and timely funding to the various colleges of agriculture and fisheries training institutions must be provided.

Your Committee further recommends that the institutions must be given authority to retain a percentage of the fees they collect for their operational costs.

xi.
xi.

Your Committee observes that the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) has been operating as a component under the Human Resource Department in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Your Committee recommends that the college be recognised as an established department within the Ministry of Agriculture in the same manner Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) operates.

28 xii.
28 xii.

Your Committee observes that NRDC had been lobbying for authority to offer degree programmes since 2007 but so far there has been no feedback.

Your Committee recommends that authority be granted for NRDC to offer degree programmes which will contribute to the training of high caliber human resource in agriculture and related disciplines.

II.
II.

LAND MANAGEMENT IN ZAMBIA Background Land in Zambia, like in many countries in Africa and globally, is the basis for all 8.0 forms of social and economic development.

It is the source of prestige, identity and a means of livelihood to most people, but especially for poor community members that live in rural and peri-urban areas.

Land has also become a source of conflict in many countries around the world because of the significance and value attached to it.
It is against this background that the land resource needs to be properly managed so as to ensure equitable and sustainable benefits to all from this important resource.

Zambia has a dual tenure regime of state land, under the administration of the Government, and customary land, administered by traditional leaders.
Although this is so, leasehold titles rest with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in Lusaka while other Government agencies have control and management responsibilities for significant areas of land, including Ministry of Agriculture, the Office of the Vice President under the Department of Resettlement and the Ministry of Local Government.

This diversity in the number of players involved in land use control and management has led to challenges in the administration of land in Zambia.
In light of this, the Committee resolved to undertake a study on the manner land is accessed, controlled, used and conserved under both customary and statutory tenure.

Witnesses i.

Ministry of Agriculture; ii.

Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources; iii.

Ministry of General Education; iv.

Ministry of Higher Education; v. House of Chiefs; vi.

Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC); vii.

National Legal Aid Clinic for Women; viii.

Ministry of Local Government; ix.


Lands Tribunal; x.

Department of Resettlement – Office of the Vice President; xi.

Zambia Land Alliance; xii.

Habitat for Humanity Zambia; xiii.

Zambian Governance Foundation; xiv.

Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs; and xv.

Zambian Open University – School of Agricultural Sciences.

29 Consolidated Submissions by Stakeholders 8.1 The submissions of the stakeholders on the subject matter are summarised below.
Introduction Your Committee was informed that land in Zambia fell under two parallel tenure regimes, with the first one being customary tenure, which was managed largely through traditional authorities, and the second system being state leasehold.
Current Challenges in the Customary and State Land Systems 8.1.1 Your Committee was informed that the current national discourse on land issues largely focused on the lack of transparency in land allocation and administration under both customary and statutory tenure systems, which affected all stakeholders from subsistence farmers to large investors.
At independence, 94 percent of Zambia was under customary land, with state land largely restricted to municipalities, protected areas and forests, and areas bordering railroad lines.

Since 1995, the Zambian legal framework had promoted the conversion of customary tenure to state-managed leaseholds tenure through a one way, non- reversible process.
Over the past twenty years, conversion had been met with significant distrust by chiefs, many of whom saw conversion as a means of diminishing the power of traditional authorities.

On the other hand, the Government and the media had portrayed chiefs as “selling customary land.” These arguments revealed common challenges in the customary and state land systems namely: i. ii.
the lack of transparency in land allocation and decision-making within both the state and customary land systems; and the state and customary land systems lacked methods to share information with each other.

Your Committee was informed that as a result, it was unknown how much land had been converted and who the main actors had been in this conversion process (smallholder farmers, traditional authorities, local or international investors).
Estimates by IAPRI suggested that over 10 percent of Zambian land had been converted or was in the process of conversion.
A large amount of this area was likely to have been only partially converted to state land, as many land holders had gained approvals from traditional authorities and local councils (who believed the land to be converted), but had not completed all legally required procedures with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (who still believed the land to be under customary management) for a variety of reasons, including taxes, administrative fees, and lack of access to Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources offices, which were confined to the provincial capitals and a few cities.
This lack of information on the status of land allowed stakeholders to continue to blame each other for land conflicts and disputes.

Processes and Procedures in Land Acquisition and Land Use Control Measures 8.1.2 Your Committee was informed that traditional authorities had long been responsible for allocating land within chiefdoms through a legally recognised customary administration system that included chiefs, headpersons, and chiefs‟ advisors (indunas).
Under this system, structures existed for traditional authorities to vet applicants and subsequently allocate land, yet these processes were largely undocumented and were not accountable to local community members.

Although traditional authorities currently lacked transparency or tools to document and administer land, they possessed a cultural legitimacy and a right to manage land on 30 behalf of the President.
Given the legitimacy and the strength of customary authorities in Zambian culture and the difficulty faced by the central Government in reaching stakeholders in rural areas, the active engagement of traditional institutions was indispensable in land administration.
Your Committee was informed that as traditional authorities were increasingly allocating land to individuals from outside the village or chiefdom structure, the Government and the media had accused chiefs of transferring large areas of land to foreign and national investors in exchange for lavish gifts, akin to selling land.

Critics argued that chiefs were displacing their subjects, who did not have any documentation of their rights to specific pieces of land.
The conversion process required approval from District Councils and Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and there were some minimal (though largely ineffective) procedures in the process to document that conversion did not undermine historical land rights in accordance with SI 89 of 1996, the Lands (Customary Tenure) (Conversion) Regulations.
Your Committee further heard that the current land administration system, as well as the application of the Decentralisation Policy, was perceived by many as creating ambiguities between the roles and functions of traditional authorities over land and people within chiefdoms.

While the Decentralisation Policy had placed more autonomy at the district level, to date, the engagement of the districts had largely been focused on municipalities.
Rather unfortunately, the district and ward boundaries did not always overlap easily with Chiefdom boundaries, further complicating coordination of service provision in Chiefdoms.

The Local Government Act Chapter 281 of the Laws of Zambia as well as the Urban and Regional Planning Act No.

3 of 2015, empowered district councils to play a substantive role in rural development issues, including land use and management.
As districts began to play these roles and as municipalities expanded their service delivery and management into peri-urban customary land, numerous conflicts had emerged.

These land related conflicts were likely to spread further into rural customary land and would continue to cause conflicts in peri-urban areas.
Resource Rights 8.1.3 Your Committee was informed that Zambia‟s legal framework for timber, wildlife and minerals exploitation largely discouraged sustainable management of these resources, as the local customary landholders (households or communities) did not have commercial rights to these resources, yet they did have rights to their agricultural production if they removed trees and/or wildlife and replaced these with crops and livestock.
Emerging opportunities for communities to establish rights over forests were encouraging, and similar approaches should be explored with respect to wildlife conservancies.

Your Committee was informed that in comparison to its neighbours, Zambia was lagging behind with respect to community wildlife management.

Namibia, for example had over eighty community conservancies with more than 15 percent of its population as members benefiting from these wildlife conservancies.
Zambia‟s wildlife management framework lacked adequate incentives for sustainable management.

For example, its seven year hunting licenses were not renewable.

This encouraged operators: i. not to take a longer-term view with respect to investment in the chiefdoms; and 31 ii.

to hunt to the absolute limit, if not beyond, of their quota as they would not benefit from increased populations in the area after seven years.
Your Committee was informed that, as Zambia examined how its legal framework around land created incentives or disincentives for urban, peri-urban and rural development for the poor and vulnerable, private sector, and Zambia‟s emerging middle class, there was a need to examine the legal framework around the resources on the land.

Suggestions by Stakeholders 8.1.4 The stakeholders suggested the possible solutions set out hereunder.

1.
1.

Land Policy Your Committee was informed that the drafts of the National Land Policy had evolved dramatically in recent years and the most recent policy draft reflected a strong compromise between different stakeholder groups.

This was a great achievement, but its adoption was still likely to cause controversy.

There was a need for the public and key stakeholders to understand the evolution of the policy and the trade-offs that had been considered.
In this regard, it was suggested that in order for the policy to be actionable and acceptable by all stakeholders, there was a need to: a. allow stakeholders to provide comments and discuss the policy draft publicly over a reasonable amount of time.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources may not wish to make dramatic changes to the policy, but it would be prudent to allow for input and for the Ministry to produce a public document to describe why particular policy positions had been taken; b. develop a list of those issues which were technical in nature and needed to be resolved through technology, consultants and contracting, and a list of issues which were more political in nature and required decisions to be taken; and c. structure programmes and activities as pieces of a puzzle, rather than a single “take it or leave it” overall puzzle, and build partnerships between civil society organisations, private sector, cooperating partners on the one hand, and Government on the other to contribute to the puzzle.
2.

National Land Titling Programme Your Committee was informed that before embarking on full scale national titling, there was need to ensure that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources had systems in place to manage the full set of new data, rights and responsibilities associated with millions of new titles.
Your Committee was informed that stakeholders recognised that the systematic titling of state land was a major priority of the current Government, but that: a. existing processes and human capacities within the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) were not equipped to handle the volume of documentation expected; and b. technical and financial assistance was required to carry out the process in the desired timeline.

The steps to be taken are listed hereunder.


Examine the status of existing documentation.

Prioritise areas for systematic titling.

i. ii.

iii.

Develop work flows for the titling programme on different types of land.

32 iv.

Amend processes within the MLNR for issuing titles.
v. Amend legislation, statutory instruments and regulations and internal processes, including through the following: a. reduce survey accuracy in rural areas; b. allow for orthophotos to be used to register boundaries; and c. move to general boundary principles, whereby fixed boundaries are only surveyed and beaconed on demand or in specifically planned areas, and general boundaries are used in all other cases; ensure safeguards.

eliminate fees for systematic titling.


coordinate with cooperating partners on other financing mechanisms to support implementation.

simplify the procedure for first time registration of land, including reducing or eliminating the fee associated with acquiring a title, which acted as a barrier.

vi.

vii.

viii.

ix.

3.


Land Administration Your Committee was informed that many Government institutions had the right policies and generally, good pieces of legislation to provide for a legal framework for administration of land.

However, there was a perennial challenge of failure to adequately enforce the various pieces of legislation and policies pertaining to land administration by many institutions dealing with land resources.

4.
4.

Revenue Generation Your Committee was informed that there was need to: i. ii.

iii.

improve the ease of collecting ground rates through collaboration with service providers, such as banks and mobile money stations; consider revising ground rates particularly for high-value residential plots; and consider contracting out collection of ground rents through a revenue share mechanism with private companies and use mobile tools for tracking compliance.

5.
5.

Customary Land Documentation and Community Land and Resource Rights On customary land documentation, your Committee was informed that there was need to: i. ii.

iii.

iv.
v. promote the documentation of customary land rights at a household and family level through the use of customary land certificates; promote recognition of community rights to forests by finalising the Statutory Instrument for Community Forestry; integrate customary land documentation information into the National Spatial Data Infrastructure; institute a registry for customary land rights to be available at the national level but managed at the chiefdom and district levels; and provide training to chiefs, indunas and headpersons on their rights and responsibilities related to land.
6.

Wildlife Rights On the issue of wildlife rights, your Committee was informed that there was need to: 33 i. ii.

iii.

increase populations of wildlife in game management areas by, inter alia, considering renewable hunting concessions beyond the current seven years to encourage long- term sustainable management of wildlife populations.
Make concession renewal contingent on stable or increasing wildlife stocks; increase private ranching for game meat, consider eliminating annual fees or license on game animals raised for meat, and treat them in the same manner as livestock; and increase opportunities for community game ranching, particularly on grassland areas, revise wildlife regulations to open up opportunities for unfenced game ranching for animal species such as antelopes.

7.
7.

Large-scale Investments Your Committee was informed that there was need to: i. ii.

reduce levels of conflict and displacement that emerged around large-scale land investments.

The Government should pilot guidelines for responsible investment in large-scale agriculture aimed at identifying legitimate stakeholders prior to alienation or leasehold.
The guidelines should follow international best practices on relocation or compensation associated with the investments; and carry out a land documentation and land-use planning exercise to better understand the existing rights to land and resources, prior to establishment of farm-blocks, resettlement areas, development of multi-purpose zones.

8.

Peri-urban Land On peri-urban land, your Committee was informed that there was need to: i. ii.

iii.

iv.
iii.

iv.

place the de-gazetting of national forests under strict review; engage in land use planning exercise in cooperation with chiefs and local communities; develop guidelines around development and expansion of council land; and allow customary landholders to register their land and receive market value.

9.
9.

Urban Land On urban land, your Committee was informed that there was need to engage urban planning and land tenure experts to fully develop a programme of action to address urban land tenure issues, particularly related to different types of land in urban areas from residential to commercial to informal settlements.

10.
10.

Coordination between Ministries Your Committee was informed that the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development each had an immense amount of information that would be of value to share and coordinate on.

If the National Titling Programme was to be successful, it would require the sharing of data and collaboration between local councils, line ministries and MLNR.

This required both political and technical cooperation.
This was the provincial and district Land to particularly Commissions, as envisioned under the new Constitution and forthcoming policies.

important with respect launching 11.


Access to Information, Relationships and Capacities At the same time that the Government was embarking on a land audit and other approaches to understand the status of Zambia‟s land uses and land classifications, there was a need to make 34 this information available to districts and chiefdoms across the country to support planning in rural areas and promote rational planning as Zambia‟s district centres were created and expanded naturally.
However, access to information alone was not adequate, mechanisms to train key stakeholders in Zambia on their rights and responsibilities related to land and the checks and balances therein needed to be explored.

This included supporting Chiefdom training for new Chiefs for example at Chalimbana Local Government School.

It must be noted that creating bridges between traditional leaders and local and national government was crucial.
As much as creating relationships among Government levels and chiefs was important, it was equally important to support chiefs to learn from one another, to share information and to represent one another.

The recreation of the House of Chiefs was admirable, but there was need to share information from the House back to the provinces and districts.

8.2 Local Tour Findings Below are the findings of the local tour.
8.2.1 Ndola City Council Your Committee held a meeting with the Town Clerk and officials from Ndola City Council together with the officials from Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Copperbelt Provincial Office.

Your Committee was informed that the staff at the Ndola City Council was relatively new as there were changes done in July-August, 2017, after the suspension of the officials who were initially there.

Your Committee learnt that thirty two officials were fired and 120 transferred.
Ndola City Council has had its land agency revoked twice since 2016.

The current revocation was done on 6th June, 2017.

Your Committee was informed that the turbulent times that led to the suspension of the Council could be attributed to land issues.

In City Councils, the Departments involved in land administration were the Legal, City Planning and the Town Clerk‟s office.

However, Ndola City Council, through the full Council and Management meetings via minutes No.
LS/41/06/14 and LS/16/04/15 transferred this very duty to the Audit Section.

Your Committee was informed that there were three main issues that led to revocation of the land Agency on 6th June, 2017 as outlined by the Chief Lands Officer.

The reasons were as follows: ii.

i. Ndola City Council, without permission from the Commissioner of Lands, made provisions and allocated stand numbers to prospective developers in an area called Chibolele.
This area was a forest reserve along Ndola – Mufulira Road, 2 kms from Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

The Council, in so doing, did not follow provisions outlined in Circular No.

1 of 1985.

The Council also deprived the principal of the much needed revenue; The Council did not follow procedure in the allocation of the Hillcrest stands behind Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
The Council did not provide any plan to the Commissioner of Lands for numbering but instead they used provisional numbers to the land that was reserved as a car park for the stadium and was on title; and The Council, acting as agents, approved stands in the Golf View area next to the golf club between Kafubu River and the rail line and made an offer to the public.

The houses built on this area were sitting on a rail reserve and this land was on title and owned by Zambia Railways.

iii.
iii.

35 Your Committee was informed that contrary to the provisions of Circular No.1 of 1985 on land management, Ndola City Council employed what were called „Charge Sheets‟ on which an invitation to treat on the land being offered was based.

After this, the client would proceed to the bank and pay for the plot.

Charge sheets were misused and had multiple sources, facilitating land theft and people paying for land which was not there.
To avoid the local authority committing itself by receiving money through questionable charge sheets for which in most cases land was not available, your Committee was informed that Ndola City Council instructed the bank to stop receiving money for plots.

Your Committee was informed that, in an attempt to address these issues, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources visited Ndola City Council in November, 2017 to meet all the stakeholders associated with land administration in the City.
This included Members of Parliament in Ndola, Councillors, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources - Ndola, ZAFFICO and Ndola City Council Management.

This was a consultative meeting which resolved that Ndola City Council had to work with other stakeholders to address the problem under discussion.

It was resolved that the following had to be done by Ndola City Council after which a report had to be submitted to the Minister of Lands, and Natural Resources (MLNR): i. ii.

iii.

iv.
iii.

iv.

in conjunction with other auxiliary institutions, Ndola City Council to conduct the head count of members of the public in possession of land in Dola Hill, Mishishi and Chibolele; segregate head count data according to various categories based on which a decision had to be made; legalise illegal buildings and repossess illegal plots that had not been developed; and consider charge sheets as null and void.
Your Committee was informed that, in accordance with Section 49 of the Urban and Regional Planning Act No.3 of 2015, Ndola City Council in collaboration with ZAFFICO and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources conducted an operation that demolished illegal buildings which were being constructed in gazetted forests, namely Mishishi and Chibolele.

This operation was conducted on two different days, 8th November, 2017 and 15th November, 2017.
Approximately thirty partially built structures were demolished, much of which were at foundation level and only one building was near completion.

These operations had sent a very strong message to members of the public on the possible consequences of acquiring land and building illegally.

Your Committee was further informed that Ndola City Council, through the Department of City Planning, carried out an operation that captured data for land in Dola Hill, Chibolele and Mishishi forest.
The exercise was conducted from 14th November to 14th December, 2017 and was later extended to 7th March, 2018.

Members of the public were invited to submit their land documents and such data was captured in a customised computer programme that allowed segregating and querying data for informed decision making.
The essence of the exercise was to capture empirical data such as number of people with land in the mentioned areas, number of multiple allocations, how much was paid and by who, how was land acquired, etc.

36 Your Committee learnt that Ndola City Council resolved to introduce an invitation to treat that replaced the charge sheet.

This came with a number of security features, making it difficult for members of the public to forge and trade land on the street.
Furthermore, Ndola City Council had streamlined land administration in accordance with Circular No.

1 of 1985 in a bid to bring about transparency in land administration.

Your Committee was informed that Ndola City Council had passed a resolution to regularise and ratify plots in Hillcrest, Mishishi and Golf View, according to minute No.

788/09/15.

However, for Chibolele and Dola Hill, the Council was yet to pass a resolution as data capturing for these areas had just been completed.
A total of 144 parcels were captured in Chibolele, Dola Hill had 1 580, Golfview had ninety three and Hillcrest seventy two.

Your Committee heard that the allocation of stands by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources during this period had affected the Council negatively.

The Council had earlier, whilst acting as an agent, allocated some of the stands now being allocated by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
According to the submission by the Council, in accordance with the law, the stands being allocated by the Ministry were considered valid and the ones earlier allocated by the Council, despite collecting relevant fees, were invalid as the principal overrides the agent.

This left the Council in a very awkward situation as they were receiving complaints from would-be developers who were seeking clarity on the matter.
The Council is largely dependent on fees collected from land allocation and because these fees bring in income faster than the sources the council is currently relaying on, this has affected the Council financially.

Your Committee noted that the local authority acknowledged that there was a break down in land administration and certain procedures were not adhered to but the Council had since identified the shortfalls and accepted that equity must be upheld in land alienation.
8.2.2 Kabwe Municipal Council Your Committee toured Kabwe Municipal Council and held a public hearing in the Council chamber.

During the tour, your Committee was informed of the pre-suspension land situation in Kabwe by the Town Clerk and other Council officials.

Some of the highlighted problems are as set out below.

i.

Illegal allocation of unplanned land by Resident Development Committees which had resulted in allocation of plots in designated graveyards, contrary to laid down procedures.

ii.
ii.

Lack of a well functioning Deeds Registry in the Council which had led to staff manipulating documentation for their own personal benefit.

iii.

Low development charges on offered commercial land resulting in resale of land by plot owners.

iv.

Advertising of and allocation of plots in areas not officially numbered.
A case cited was the New Nkrumah area where a whole area had been advertised and allocated on local area plans whose plots were not numbered by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

v. Land Record Cards being issued without any clear procedure which led to a backlog of between 18,000 and 20,000 unprocessed Land Record Cards because Councillors continued to recommend applicants from largely informal housing areas for issuance of Land Record Cards.

37 vi.
37 vi.

Internal conflicts among council officials on roles/procedures.

These differences were especially visible between the Planning Department and the Legal Department.

vii.

Allegations and anonymous reports of insider dealings on land connected to some staff and councilors in the council were prevalent.

viii.

Lack of a plan for the control of illegal developments and squatter expansion.
Your Committee was informed that the suspension of the land agency of Kabwe Municipal Council was done on 7th June, 2017 through a letter by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources cited the Council‟s failure to follow laid down procedures in line with Circular No.1 of 1985.

8.2.3 Public Hearing Your Committee conducted a public hearing on the land issues pertaining to the Kabwe Municipal Council.

Your Committee heard that some council officials, including the mayor, were selling land illegally.
The members of the public submitted that the poor were not taken into consideration when land was being alienated.

Your Committee further heard that a number of officers in the council were incompetent and unhelpful because of having stayed in one position for too long.

They, therefore, proposed that there was need to swap and transfer some of them.
Your Committee also heard that there was need to find land for resettlement for people who were being displaced from unplanned settlements and ensure that the land was serviced by the council before allocation.

Another issue of concern that was brought out during the public hearing was that issuance of title deeds took too long and this needed to be addressed.
Fig.11: Members of the public at a Public Hearing in the Kabwe Council Chamber Your Committee was implored to ensure that the land agency was given back to the council if development had to be recorded in Kabwe.

38 Committee’s Observations and Recommendations 8.3 After a detailed analysis of the written memoranda and careful consideration of oral submissions from the stakeholders and findings from the local tour, your Committee makes the observations and recommendations set out below.

i.
i.

Your Committee observes that the processes and procedures in land acquisition and land use control measures are clearly defined but generally overlooked, thereby leading to conflicts.

In light of this, your Committee recommends that the Government should ensure that the procedures and processes are adhered to and disseminate the information to the various stakeholders.

Your Committee further recommends that strong punitive measures be meted against erring individuals.

ii.
ii.

Your Committee notes that it has taken an inordinately long time to conclude the Land Policy and operating without the policy has resulted into a number of challenges in the administration of land.

In this regard, your Committee strongly urges the Government to expedite the finalisation of the land policy.
Your Committee further recommends that the Lands Act Chapter 184 of the Laws of Zambia should be revised and the contents of Circular No.1 of 1985 be incorporated in the revised Act to give them legal backing.

iii.

Your Committee further notes with concern that the consultations with traditional authorities were not adequately concluded and this may hamper the smooth implementation of the national land policy.
Your Committee therefore, recommends that further consultations be undertaken with the traditional authorities to iron out the differences.

iv.

Your Committee observes that the conclusion of the national land audit and titling programme are long overdue.

Your Committee, however, is glad to note that Southern Province has conducted its own land audit within a short period of time.

Your Committee therefore, urges that the example by Southern Province be replicated countrywide.
The Government should ensure that other provinces conduct their own land audits which could be consolidated to make up the national inventory.

v. Your Committee notes that there is lack of coordination and collaboration among the various players involved in land allocation and land use control, which has led to uncoordinated development in most parts of the country.
Your Committee therefore, strongly urges the Government to ensure that the various ministries involved in land allocation and land use control, work as a team to ensure proper utilisation of the available land.

vi.
vi.

Your Committee is concerned that the land belonging to training institutions such as Zambia College of Agriculture, Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) and 39 Palabana is not secured on title thereby leaving the institutional land vulnerable to encroachments and land grabbing by the surrounding communities.
Your Committee urges the Government to expeditiously secure the land belonging to these institutions by issuing them certificates of title and ensuring that land that has been dubiously acquired and given away is reverted to these institutions without undue delay.

vii.

Your Committee observes that some local authorities do not follow laid down procedures in land alienation and allocation.

This has led to land wrangles and disputes within certain municipalities.
Your Committee further notes that some of the Council officials may have overstayed in their positions.

Your Committee recommends that disciplinary action should be meted out against erring council and Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources officials who fail to follow procedure or are involved in any illegalities in the allocation of land.

Your Committee further recommends that the Local Government Service Commission should transfer some of the officials from the erring local authorities.
9.0 Consideration of Action-Taken Reports PART II 9.1 Action-Taken Report for the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly 9.1.1 Revision of Irrigation Policy and Strategy of 2004 Your previous Committee had strongly recommended that the Government should expedite the revision of the Irrigation Policy and Strategy of 2004.

Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive responded that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture had taken note of the Committee‟s recommendation.
It was stated that the Irrigation Policy and the Implementation Strategy of 2004 was still being revised.

The reason for the delay was that the Ministry was still consulting stakeholders before it could come up with the final document.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee notes that the response does not have a timeframe for the conclusion of consultations.
Your Committee therefore, strongly urges that the consultations be concluded before the end of 2018 and a progress report on the matter submitted to it.

9.1.2 Review of Water Policy of 2010 Your previous Committee had further requested for a review of the Water Policy of 2010 to align it with the revised Irrigation Policy and Strategy of 2004.
Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive responded that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, had taken note of the Committee‟s recommendation.

However, it 40 was noted that the revision of the Water Policy was under the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection who always consulted the stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture, before the Policy could finally be approved.
This was done in order to ensure that policies were aligned with other policies in other sectors and ministries.

However, the Irrigation Policy and the Implementation Strategy were being revised in line with others policies in other sectors and ministries.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests an update on the revision of the Water Policy from the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection.
9.1.3 Upgrade of Irrigation Strategy Your previous Committee had strongly urged the Government to upgrade the Irrigation Section in the Ministry of Agriculture and ensure that appropriate and sufficient numbers of staff were recruited at all levels in order to strengthen its institutional capacity to implement irrigation programmes.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in its response in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the current structure of the Irrigation Engineering Section was not adequate; hence in 2015, the Government resolved to turn the Irrigation Section into a Department of Irrigation within the Ministry of Agriculture in order to strengthen the structure.
They stated that the Ministry was engaging the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) and the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the Treasury unfreezes the frozen positions under the Section in order to strengthen the Irrigation Section.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture was complimented by Project Implementation Units (PIUs) which had adequate staff to implement some irrigation projects.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and requests that the PSMD and Ministry of Finance expeditiously process the request to unfreeze the positions under the Department of Irrigation.

9.1.4 Equitable Promotion of Irrigation Your previous Committee had further recommended the equitable promotion of irrigation among different categories of farmers to exploit synergies by integrating smallholder and emerging farmers in commercial irrigated agriculture.
Executive’s Response The Executive, through the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, was promoting irrigation for small scale farmers linked to commercial outgrowers.

Chiansi Irrigation Scheme in Kafue, Nzenga Irrigation Scheme in Sinazongwe and Manyonyo Irrigation Scheme in Mazabuka were examples of such schemes.
They stated that the Government intended to extend such schemes to Eastern, Muchinga, Northern, Central, Lusaka, Luapula, North-Western and Copperbelt Provinces.

41 For example, the Government had identified two sites involving 800 and 1,000 hectares of land in Yapita in Luangwa District for possible establishment of irrigation schemes, in addition to the existing and operational schemes at Chafukula and Tiyeseko Irrigation Schemes.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee notes that there are a number of bottlenecks in the implementation of the already established irrigation schemes which need to be addressed.

Your Committee, therefore, recommends that, before any possible roll-out of new schemes, these bottlenecks must be sorted out in order for the established schemes to run smoothly.
9.1.5 Validity of Water Permits Your previous Committee had noted that the five year period of validity of a water permit hindered long term investment in irrigation because of the inherent risk of losing the permit after a capital intensive investment.

Therefore, your Committee had strongly recommended that the Government increase the period of validity of the Water Permit to encourage investment in irrigation.
Executive’s Response The Executive, through the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, did not issue irrigation permits.

The only permit which was issued by Government was the Water Permit which was issued by the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA).

It was valid for five years and was renewable.


Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee reiterates its previous recommendation that the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), through the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, should consider increasing the period of validity of a Water Permit to encourage investment in irrigation.
9.1.6 Distribution of Irrigation Funds and Infrastructure Your previous Committee had recommended that irrigation funds and infrastructure must be distributed according to identified needs in the different provinces.

Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, realised the need for equity in the distribution of irrigation projects.
However, the first commercial irrigation projects were targeted for climate and water-stressed areas in Southern and Lusaka Provinces.

They stated that after recognising the commodity corridors and all-inclusive development, the Ministry had expanded irrigation programmes and distributed the programmes equitably to Eastern, Northern, Muchinga, Central, Copperbelt, Luapula, North-Western, and Lusaka Provinces.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee, while taking note of the response, recommends that additional information be supplied on the specific areas where irrigation programmes had been implemented.
42 9.1.7 Accessibility of Irrigation Schemes Your previous Committee had recommended that accessibility to the irrigation sites should be enhanced by improving the road infrastructure leading to the irrigation sites as accessibility to some existing irrigation sites was very poor, thereby rendering them inaccessible during certain periods of the year.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Response, stated that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, every year engaged District Councils to grade the roads leading to the irrigation schemes to improve accessibility.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee is not satisfied with the works done by District Councils and therefore, recommends that the Government should work on these roads through the Zambia National Service (ZNS).

9.2.
9.2.

Action-Taken Report for the Fourth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly 9.2.1 State and Management of the Fisheries Sector in Zambia Your previous Committee had requested an update on the stakeholder consultations on the revision of the Fisheries Regulations and the enactment of the Aquaculture Regulations.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that it had repealed and replaced the Fisheries Act Chapter 200 of the Laws of Zambia to include the fisheries and aquaculture regulations in the amended Fisheries Act, No.

22 of 2011.

However, there had been challenges in implementing some Regulations in the Act, such as the fishing methods for Kapenta, the lifting of the fishing ban on the lower Zambezi and the Aquaculture Regulations.
In order to address these challenges, the Executive, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, had been engaging stakeholders and would hold a stakeholders‟ consultative meeting before these revisions could be effected through a Statutory Instrument.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee is concerned that the process of holding consultations with stakeholders has taken too long and therefore, urges the Government to expedite the process and conclude the review process by the end of 2018.

9.2.2 Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy Your previous Committee had requested an update on whether there will be a stand-alone Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and whether stakeholder consultations had begun.
Executive’s Response The Executive, through the Action-Taken Report, maintained its earlier submission that S- NAP may not directly address some pertinent issues for the fisheries subsector.
Following this submission, the Executive, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, allocated K5,000,000 in the 2017 budget to conduct wide stakeholder consultations on all policies and regulations in the fisheries and livestock subsector and the Strategic Plan which included the Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy.

The consultative meetings were expected to be completed by December, 2017.
43 Committee’s Observations and Recommendations While noting the response, your Committee requests for a progress report on the outcome of the consultations which were expected to be completed by December, 2017.

9.2.3 Implementation of Lake Tanganyika Development Project Your previous Committee had requested an update on the implementation of the Lake Tanganyika Development Project.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Lake Tanganyika Development Project, with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) was commissioned in September, 2015 and was operating in Nsama and Mpulungu Districts of Northern Province.

The status of implementation of the Project was as set out below.

a) Construction of Modern Fish Market The Project would construct two modern Fish Markets in Mpulungu and Nsama Districts.
The following infrastructure would be constructed: i) ii) iii) iv) v) cold room facilities; two fish markets; water schemes for both markets; landing sites in both districts; and Jetties for both districts.

The Terms of Reference for the consultant to come up with designs and engineering drawings for the modern fish market had been developed and the project was in the process of procuring services of an engineering company.
b) Small Scale floating demo fish cages The project would support the construction and management of ten small scale floating (demo sites) for tilapia, for five farmers or five interest groups in Nsama and Mpulungu.

Five demo sites would be constructed for each district.

The Executive stated that the Ministry was in the process of procuring a consultant to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment before construction of the demo fish cages.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests for a progress report on the construction of the modern fish market and the construction and management of small scale floating demo fish cages.

9.2.4 Establishment of Inspectorate Unit Your previous Committee had requested an update on the establishment of the inspectorate unit.

Executive’s Response The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock had revised the entire structure which included the establishment of an Inspectorate Unit.
It was expected that the structure would be considered for approval after the Ministry had completed the process of development and adoption of the strategic plan.

44 Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests for a progress report on the development and adoption of the strategic plan and subsequently the establishment of an inspectorate unit.
9.2.5 Relocation of Fisheries National Headquarters and Chilanga District GRZ Fish Farm Your previous Committee had requested for an update on the relocation of the Fisheries National Headquarters and the Chilanga District GRZ Fish Farm.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Government, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, had prioritised the relocation of the Fisheries National Headquarters and the Chilanga District GRZ Fish Farm to Kafue and the process would be financed by the Zambia Aquaculture Enterprise Development Project (ZAEDP).

The Ministry would also include the relocation process in the budget for 2018.
Local Tour Findings 9.2.5.1 Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Headquarters and Chilanga GRZ Fish Farms Your Committee toured the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Headquarters in Chilanga and the GRZ Fish Farms.

Your Committee was informed that the Ministry handled two subsectors, namely; capture fisheries and aquaculture.

From the capture fisheries, the production figures stood at 85,000mt and from aquaculture 32,000mt of fish per annum.
Your Committee learnt that there was a huge demand for fish locally which stood at 50,000mt and 30,000mt for export to Katanga in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some of the challenges in capture fisheries were the lack of alternative sources of livelihood for the people to allow for regeneration of the fish.

There was also the issue of failure by the Ministry to enforce regulations.
Because the community was not able to catch enough fish, they engaged in illegal fishing methods such as poisoning and the use of mosquito nets.

Your Committee was informed that with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) support for aquaculture in the 1980s, there was a push to produce fingerlings for the farmers.

But because of Government‟s failure to do business while producing fingerlings, the project failed to materialise.
The challenge was that Government produced fingerlings for the farmers and failed to sell the fingerlings because farmers expected them to give the fingerlings free of charge.

Your Committee was informed that there was need to encourage the private sector to grow the fingerlings because, for Government, after selling the fingerlings, money went into the Treasury and none of this revenue was retained at source.

As a result, Government was unable to produce more fingerlings.
Other challenges cited included the quality of fingerlings, quality of fish feed and financing for the sector as the banks felt it was still a risky undertaking since it was relatively new.

On the issue of relocating the fish farms, your Committee was informed that there was a water crisis in Chilanga due to blockage of the stream by houses that had been built across the stream.
Your Committee heard that there was an urgent need to have the fish farms moved but every year the Ministry was told not to bring in new projects.

However, your 45 Committee learnt that land had been identified in Kafue and there was an undertaking from some cooperating partners to fund the proposal.

Once the funds were released, then the relocation process would commence.
Fig.12: Chilanga GRZ Fish Farms Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Following its observation during the tour and taking note of the Executive‟s response, your Committee strongly recommends that the Fisheries National Headquarters and the Chilanga District GRZ Fish Farm be expeditiously moved to Kafue.

9.2.6 National Aquaculture and Research Development Centre (NARDC) Your previous Committee had requested an update on the unfreezing of positions in the establishment by PSMD.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock had an estimated total of 386 frozen positions.

Due to lack of resources under the 2017 budget, the positions could not be unfrozen.

The Ministry had since included the cost of unfreezing the positions in the 2018 budget.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests for an update on the prospect of unfreezing the frozen positions in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

46 9.2.7 Procurement Process for the Aquaculture Development Project Your previous Committee had requested for an update on the procurement process for the Zambia Aquaculture Development Project.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Government, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, had included procurement of materials and equipment for the construction of the Fish Nutrition Laboratory at the National Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (NARDC) in the 2017 budget for the project and the procurement process for the laboratory was underway.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and requests for a progress report on the construction of the Fish Nutrition Laboratory at the National Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (NARDC).

9.2.8 Fiyongoli Research Station Your previous Committee had requested for an update on the implementation of the improvement of infrastructure in the aquaculture research stations.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, responded that, the Government through the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock allocated part of the Aquaculture Development Fund for rehabilitation of the fisheries research stations and fish farms.

The Ministry had utilised part of the fund to revamp Kaoma, Solwezi, Chalata and Fiyongoli Research Institutions (Government Fish Farms).

Fingerling production was expected to commence in the warm period (August 2017-April 2018).
These efforts were aimed at improving the capacity of the institutions to produce fingerlings.

Your Committee was informed that other rehabilitation works for Misamfu, Chipata, and the Central Veterinary Research Institute had been budgeted for in the 2017 Budget and were ongoing.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and requests for a progress report on the rehabilitation works for Misamfu, Chipata, and the Central Veterinary Research Institutes that had been budgeted for.

Your Committee also requests for an update on the fingerling production which had been expected to commence in the warm period (August 2017-April 2018).
9.2.9 Lake Tanganyika Project Your previous Committee had noted that your previous Committee‟s recommendation was not responded to and, therefore, requested for a response.

Your Committee had also wished to know whether Phase II of the Lake Tanganyika Integrated Project had been implemented.

Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, indicated that your previous Committee recommendation was infact responded to as Phase II of the Project was still at design stage.
Drawing lessons from Phase I, the Executive, through the Ministry of Fisheries and 47 Livestock, designed Phase II with the Project Steering Committee of the project headed by the Provincial Permanent Secretary.

Additionally, various heads of government departments within the Province, Nsama and Mpulungu Districts were engaged in the implementation of the Project.
At community level, Phase II of the project had established core management structures to enhance the participation of communities in the Project.

The Project had established twenty one and forty nine Village Conservation Development Committees (VCDC) in Nsama and Mpulungu Districts, respectively.

Additionally, the Project had established ten demo cages belonging to the communities.

The cages would be operated by the interest groups and the proceeds would be for the communities.
With regard to your Committee‟s wish to know the status of implementation of the Lake Tanganyika Development Project, the Executive informed your Committee that Phase II of the Lake Tanganyika Project was commissioned in September, 2015 and was operating in Nsama and Mpulungu Districts of Northern Province.

Phase II would be funded by African Development Bank (AfDB) and would focus on: 1.

Construction of Modern Fish Market; 2.

Small Scale floating demo fish cages; 3.

Catch Assessment Survey; 4.


Environment Assessment Survey; 5.

Establishment of Core Management Structures; and 6.

Procurement of Limnological Equipment Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests for an update on the implementation of Phase II of the Lake Tanganyika Project.

9.2.10 Establishment of ZEMA Offices in the Ten Provinces Your previous Committee had requested an update on the issue of establishing ZEMA presence in the ten provinces.
Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive responded that Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) currently operated from four offices (Lusaka, Ndola, Livingstone and Chirundu).

Further, the Government in 2017 had planned to establish three more offices for ZEMA in Chipata, Solwezi and Nakonde, to be operationalised between July and December, 2017.

In 2018, the Government planned to open up three more offices in Mongu, Mansa and Kasumbalesa Border Post.
Other Offices in the remaining provinces would follow later.

Further, ZEMA planned to pilot appointment of honorary inspectors once the guidelines and procedures being funded through the Zambia Mining Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project (ZMERIP) were concluded.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests an update on whether the three ZEMA offices in Chipata, Solwezi and Nakonde have been established as planned.
Your Committee further, requests for a 48 progress report on the opening up of the other three offices in Mongu, Mansa and Kasumbalesa Border Post.

9.3 Action-Taken Report for the Third Session of the Eleventh National Assembly 9.3.1 Regulation of Non-Traditional Crops and Related Legislation Your previous Committee had requested an update on the pieces of legislation that needed to be reviewed to support the operationalisation of the Second National Agricultural Policy.
Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive responded that the Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries and Livestock launched the Second National Agricultural Policy on 10th March, 2017.

For effective implementation of the objectives and measures outlined in the Second National Agricultural Policy, the following Acts needed to repealed and replaced: i. ii.

iii.

The Plant Breeders’ Act, No.

18 of 2007; Fertiliser and Feeds Act, No.

13 of 1994; and The Food Reserve Act, No.


20 of 2005.

The Executive added that the Ministry of Agriculture had started the process of reviewing these Acts.

The proposed amendments to the Plant Breeders’ Act had since been submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the revision of the Fertiliser and Feeds Act, No.

13 of 1994 and the Food Reserve Act, No.

20 of 2005 had also started at the Ministry.


Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and requests for an update on the progress made in the revision of the identified Acts.

9.3.2 Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) Your previous Committee had requested for a progress report on the issue of turning ZARI into a semi-autonomous organisation.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the process of turning ZARI into a semi-autonomous organisation could not be concluded due to inadequate financial resources.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and is of the view that the transformation of ZARI does not require huge financial resources but rather requires political will.
Your Committee therefore, urges the Executive to expedite the process of transforming ZARI into an autonomous organisation.

9.3.3 Revision of the Tobacco Act Your previous Committee had requested an update on the drafting of the revised Tobacco Act, Chapter 237 of the Laws of Zambia.
Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive responded that a special Committee drafting the revised Tobacco Act had finalised the document, a revised Tobacco Industry Bill was in place 49 and had been circulated to stakeholders for further comments before submitting it to the Ministry of Justice.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests for an update on the process of finalising the Tobacco Industry Bill.

9.4.
9.4.

Action-Taken-Report on the Report of the Auditor General on the Management and Control of Livestock Diseases for the Fifth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly 9.4.1 Inadequate Dip Tanks and Resources for Compulsory Dipping Your previous Committee had requested for a progress report on the rehabilitation and construction of dip tanks, stating what the required numbers were, and from what had been planned for construction, what the shortfall would be.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that, following the Presidential directive, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock did not undertake the construction of new dip tanks but aimed to complete the ongoing works.

The Government made a provision of K30 million for the completion of ongoing works and mobilised sixty four contractors to complete the outstanding works in all the districts.
The Government had continued with the programme of rehabilitation and construction of dip tanks in nine Provinces, except Western Province.

To date, contracts had been awarded for construction and rehabilitation of 460 dip tanks.

These included 215 new and 245 old dip tanks.

So far 143 dip tanks had been rehabilitated and sixty four new dip tanks had been constructed, giving a total of 201 dip tanks completed.
Currently, there were 200 dip tanks (seventy five rehabilitations and 121 new) under construction works.

The total national requirement for Dip tanks was about 702 dip tanks and the shortfall was 342 dip tanks.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee is concerned that some of the completed dip tanks are not operational, have cracks and are leaking.
Your Committee therefore, urges the Government to provide a progress report on the operationalised dip tanks, the cost of rehabilitation and cost of constructing new ones, district by district.

9.4.2 Non-Submission of Surveillance Reports by Districts Your previous Committee had requested for an update on the digitisation of veterinary camps.
Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report, stated that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock had almost completed the process of digitising veterinary camps for the re- demarcation of the large veterinary camps in the country to manageable smaller sizes.

This process involved converting analogue topographical sketch (paper) maps of veterinary camps to digital format.
Nine Provinces had so far been completed and these included Lusaka, 50 Central, Muchinga, Southern, Western, Luapula, North-Western, Northern and Copperbelt Province.

The only province yet to be digitised was Eastern Provinces.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests for tangible evidence of where the re-demarcation process has been completed and whether this goes with an increase in the number of veterinary officers and also the progress made in the digitisation process.
9.4.3 Lack of Livestock Census Your previous Committee had awaited a progress report on the conduct of the census.

Executive’s Response The Executive reported that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock held a consultative meeting in February 2016 with stakeholders about the need to hold a fully-fledged livestock census.

During the meeting, two methods were proposed to conduct the livestock census in 2017: a.

100% coverage of households in Zambia with a cost of ZMW 710 000 000. b.
Large sample survey (census) costing ZMW 112 Million.

After further consultations with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Ministry of Finance, the Executive settled for the Large Sample Livestock Survey.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, in consultation with CSO, prepared the budget of 57.6 Million Kwacha and the methodology for the Large Sample Livestock Survey.

The Ministry included 50 Million Kwacha in the 2017 budget for the livestock census.
During the review period, a committee comprising experts from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and CSO was formed to spearhead the activities of the Census and to draw a roadmap for the census.

In August 2017, the Treasury released K3 million to commence phase 1 of the census.

The activities for phase 1 included: Programming of the questionnaire on tablets; Pre-testing of the programmed questionnaire; i. Questionnaire formulation; ii.

iii.

iv.
iii.

iv.

Manual design; v. Census publicity; and vi.

Training of master trainers.

Phase 1 was underway and was expected to be completed by the third week of September, 2017.

Furthermore, the Ministry was in the process of procuring 2000 tablets to be used for data collection.

The cost of the tablets and other equipment to use during the census was K9.8 million.

During the period under review, the tender was advertised, evaluated and the contractor was shortlisted.
The contract had since been sent to the Ministry of Justice for clearance.

Phase 1 was expected to be completed by 30th September, 2017.

51 After completion of phase 1, the Ministry would commence phase 2 which would include the training of supervisors and enumerators at provincial level.

The estimated cost of phase 2 was K10.8 million and it was expected to be completed by the first week of October, 2017.
The third phase would be data collection which would cost about K32.5 million and was anticipated to start in the second week of October, 2017 and ending in the first week of November.

The final phase consisted of data cleaning, data analysis, report writing and dissemination of the livestock census report and would cost K1.5 million.

The final phase was expected to be completed by 31st December, 2017.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee is dismayed that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock could spend such a colossal sum of money on buying tablets when they were working with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) who already have tablets and also wonder why they had to cost questionnaires when the questionnaires were also being printed.

Your Committee considers this as unnecessary and wasteful expenditure which could have been avoided.
Your Committee further takes note of the deadlines given for the completion of the census and therefore, requests for a progress report.

9.4.4 Inadequate Surveillance at Abattoirs Your previous Committee had sought a progress report on the enactment of the Food Safety and Quality Bill.

Executive’s Response It was reported in the Action-Taken Report that, the Ministry of Health submitted a draft of the Food Safety and Quality Bill to the Ministry of Justice for a legal opinion and clearance in 2015.
The Ministry of Justice had since sent the legal opinion to the Ministry of Health and the Executive was still making internal consultations on the bill.

The Ministry of Health would call a stakeholders‟ consultative meeting once the bill had been cleared by the Ministry of Justice.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and urges the Government to ensure that the Food Safety and Quality Bill is brought to Parliament expeditiously for enactment.
9.4.5 Failure to follow Vaccination Schedules Your previous Committee had requested for an update on whether the operationalisation of the Treasury Single Account had been done and its effectiveness.

Executive’s Response The Executive, through the Action-Taken Report stated that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock operationalised the Treasury Single Account in August, 2017 and could not conclusively assess the effectiveness of the system as it was in the first year of operation.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee requests an update on the effectiveness of the Single Treasury Account.

52 9.4.6 Lack of Field Equipment Your previous Committee had wished to know whether the kits had been distributed and whether they were adequate for all the extension officers.

Executive’s Response The Executive, in the Action-Taken Report stated that eighty eight veterinary kits had been bought and were yet to be distributed.
However, the kits were not adequate to cover all the Veterinary Assistants.

To this effect, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock would need to source more funding.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee strongly urges the Government to ensure that adequate kits are procured and released to the Veterinary Assistants expeditiously.
9.4.7 Non-functional Quarantine Facilities Your previous Committee had requested for a progress report on the construction of quarantine facilities in Lusaka and Livingstone which were planned and the progress made on the construction of these facilities in Mbala and Nakonde.

Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive reported that there had been no progress on the construction of quarantine facilities in Livingstone and Lusaka due to budgetary constraints.
However, construction of the facilities in Mbala and Nakonde was progressing well.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and urges the Government to prioritise the construction of quarantine facilities as part of disease control mechanisms.

Your Committee notes with dismay that the quarantine land in Silverest Area in Chongwe has been encroached upon and demarcated into a residential area.
Your Committee therefore, urges the Government to ensure that quarantine land is reclaimed, preserved and protected.

9.4.8 Failure to Maintain the Cordon Line Your previous Committee wished to know how far consultations had gone with other stakeholders and whether the Ministry had employed cordon guards to patrol the cordon line.

Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, the Executive stated that consultations with stakeholders were on-going.
Stakeholders were in support of the Ministry‟s strategy on eradicating Contagious Bovine Pleura Pneumonia (CBPP) in Western and North-western Provinces.

It had been agreed that there was need to have staff in place before constructing the cordon line so as to avoid vandalism of the line.

It was reported that Cordon Guards had not been employed yet as the Ministry was still in the process of drafting a Strategic Plan.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee notes the response and requests for an update on the matter.

Your Committee further recommends that in coming up with strategies on how to combat livestock diseases, the Ministry should relook at the disease dynamics which could have since changed with the passage of time.

53 9.4.9 High Disease Incidence Your previous Committee had requested for a progress report on all the activities outlined in the response.
Executive’s Response In the Action-Taken Report, it was reported that the progress on the activities was as outlined below.

i. Checkpoint Constructions: a. Kafue Bridge along Kafue Road was functional; b. Nalusanga in Mumbwa was complete and awaited commissioning; c. Luangwa Bridge along the Great East Road awaited staff; and d. Kasama: all buildings (housing units- 3 low and 2 medium cost, office block, self- contained rooms) had been roofed and 1 borehole drilled.

ii.
ii.

Quarantine Facilities Construction a. Chongwe: due to budgetary constraints, no works had been undertaken; b. Kazungula: due to budgetary constraints, no works had been undertaken; c. Mbala: all buildings - 3 low cost housing units had been roofed and plastered and 1 borehole drilled; and d. Nakonde: all housing units - 3 had been roofed and plastered.

Door frames and window frames had been fitted to all houses.
Fixing of gypsum ceiling was in progress for the housing units and the office block had been roofed.

Internal and external plastering, electrical and plumbing works had also been done.

iii.
iii.

Regional Laboratory Construction a. Chipata: complete and operational; b. Choma: 95 percent of the works completed; c. Kasama: construction of the building was complete only final touches were remaining; d. Mongu: 90 percent of the works were completed; e. Ndola: building was complete but awaiting roofing and other works; and f. Solwezi: building completed awaiting equipment, furniture, staff and commissioning.
Local Tour Findings 9.4.9.1 Ndola Regional Laboratory Your Committee toured the construction site for the new regional laboratory at Baluba, 25km from Ndola on the Ndola – Kitwe dual carriageway.

The regional laboratory fell under the Veterinary Research Section of the Department of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Your Committee was informed that construction of the Regional Laboratory commenced on 7th February, 2014 and was at 60 percent completion.
The contractor was Marks Limited and the contract sum was K4,544,033.00, but so far only K1,760,933.25 had been paid to the contractor.

Your Committee further heard that there were delays in the construction due to change in the project site from Ndola Veterinary Office to Baluba and change in the structural design done by the structural engineers in Lusaka.

54 Your Committee was informed that the main activities at the station would be research and diagnosis.
The regional laboratory would have separate labs for different specialised tests which included; chemistry/toxicology, bacteriology, virology, entomology, parasitology and pathology.

In addition, the regional laboratory would be required to conduct quality control processes of vaccines being produced.

Your Committee heard that the Ndola Regional Laboratory would cater for the Copperbelt and Luapula Provinces.
Your Committee was informed that the current laboratory faced challenges in that it had low staffing levels, limited and obsolete diagnostic tools and equipment, inadequate funding to support diagnostic activities and that most of the tests were sent to Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI), leading to delayed submission and diagnosis of samples.

Your Committee heard that having the regional laboratory would bring diagnostic services closer to the livestock farmers.
Your Committee also heard that the land where the laboratory was located was not on title and, therefore, was under threat of encroachment from squatters.

Fig.

13: Construction site for Ndola Regional Laboratory iv.

Camp house Rehabilitation and Construction Due to budgetary constraints, the Ministry had not been able to undertake any construction and rehabilitation works.
v. Procurement of 312 Motorbikes for Extension Workers 312 motorbikes were purchased and distributed to various veterinary camps countrywide.

55 vi.

Construction of Livestock Service Centres a.

Level 1: advert was running; b.

Level 2: advert was being prepared for publication; and c. Level 3: was under construction.
Local Tour Findings 9.4.9.2 Munganga Livestock Service Centre in Kanchibiya District During its tour of Munganga Livestock Service Centre, which was a Level 2 service centre in the Kanchibiya Resettlement Scheme, your Committee was informed that the centre was being constructed under the Livestock Infrastructure Support Project (LISP), with funding from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Your Committee was informed that the project had initially been scheduled to be completed by April, 2018 but due to delayed funding, the project was now scheduled for completion by end of June, 2018.

Your Committee was further informed that the site was chosen because there was a high cattle population in the area.
This was a one stop centre for training, provision of extension services to farmers and dip facilities in order to reduce the disease burden for cattle and goats from tick-borne diseases which were prevalent in the area.

Your Committee learnt that the centre would also provide support infrastructure to process skin and hides for value addition.

The centre would be managed by the community whose committees were already in place to be run by the cooperatives.
Your Committee noted that the contractor was on site and the construction works were progressing well.

The setting out and excavation of the dip tank, the crash pen and holding facilities were also in progress.

However, your Committee noted with concern that there was a flaw in the design of the dip tank, and the dip tank was situated close to a stream thereby posing a risk of contamination from the dip chemicals once the dip tank was operational.
Your Committee also observed that the dip tank and the loading bay were positioned too close to the residences and the office and the size of the poles used for the holding pen was smaller than the recommended type.

Your Committee therefore, advised the contractor to stop the works until the technical experts in the Ministry revisited the project and reviewed the location and design before proceeding with the construction.

56 Fig.14: Site for the construction of the Munganga dip tank vii.
The construction of a Double Storey Learning Centre at Zambia Institute of Animal Health (ZIAH) in Mazabuka: This project was 90 percent complete.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations Your Committee takes note of the response and requests for a progress report on the works that were yet to be undertaken and those that were yet to be completed.
Your Committee further notes the progress made on the Ndola Regional Laboratory and urges the Government to ensure a speedy completion of the project and ensure that a certificate of title is issued in relation to the land on which the laboratory is located without delay.

Following its tour of the construction site of the Level 2 Livestock Service Centre at Munganga in Kanchibiya, your Committee notes that there is a design flaw in the construction of the dip tank and that it is wrongly located.
Your Committee therefore, recommends that construction be halted and technical experts be sent on site to redesign the dip tank as well as seek a more suitable location for it.

57 CONCLUSION 10.0 Your Committee is grateful to you, Mr Speaker, and to the Clerk of the National Assembly and her staff for the support rendered to it during the consideration of the topical issues.
Your Committee is also indebted to all the witnesses who appeared before it for their cooperation in providing the necessary memoranda and briefs.
Mr M J B Ng‟onga, MP CHAIRPERSON June 2018 LUSAKA 58 APPENDIX List of National Assembly Officials Ms C Musonda, Principal Clerk of Committees Mr F Nabulyato, Deputy Principal Clerk of Committees (SC) Mr S Chiwota, Senior Committee Clerk (SC) Mrs M K Siwo, Committee Clerk Ms L Chilala, Typist Mr M Phiri, Intern Mr M Chikome, Committee Assistant Mr D Lupiya, Acting Committee Assistant 59